These Two Numbers Are Important Now

June 20, 2003
Vincent Mao

Stocks
were mixed on this quadruple-witching Friday. A General Motors
(
GM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
upgrade and GE’s backing of
its second-quarter targets boosted the blue chip laden Dow. The Nasdaq lagged on weakness in semiconductor and software issues. Economists at Goldman Sachs raised
their 2004 GDP forecast from 2.5% to 3.3%. Bonds fell for a fifth straight day.
Next Tuesday, the Fed meets, and the Street is debating
whether there will be a quarter point or a half-point rate cut. Trim Tabs
estimated that equity fund inflows for the week ending June 18 were $5.4
billion, compared with $3.5 billion last week.

No economic news for today.

The 10-year U.S. Note
was -100 at 118 055.

The dollar was +0.81 at
94.45.

Gold fell -4.30 at 356.70.

Crude Oil gained +0.82 at
29.33.

Volume is at
1,543,731,000
on the NYSE, and at 1,631,639,000 on the Nasdaq.

Market breadth was negative,
with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of 1.08, and up
volume over down volume by a 1.20 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues over
declining issues were at 1.01, and down volume over up volume was at 1.55.

Top Dow stocks were:

Stocks in the news:

General Motors
(
GM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was higher after the auto maker announced that it will offer
$10 billion in debt and convertible securities. General Motors plans to use the
proceeds to fund its pension and benefits programs. Prudential Securities also
upgraded the stock from “sell” to “buy”.

Nautica Enterprises
(
NAUT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
rose after the firm said that the Barrington
Group has withdrawn one of its two nominees to Nautica’s board. Nautica feels
that Barrington’s intentions are not in the best interests of shareholders.

Bed Bath & Beyond
(
BBBY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was lower on heavy volume. The housewares retailer announced that they have paid $200 million for the privately
held Christmas Tree Shops.

Cognos
(
COGN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was
lower after the company lowered second-quarter
guidance. The software maker reported first-quarter results of 14 cents a share
compared to 11 cents a share of the same period a year ago. However the company
warned that second-quarter results will be between 15 and 18 cents a share or
just shy of estimates of 19 cents a share.

Express Scripts
(
ESRX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
fell after the company announced that it has been
subpoenaed by the New York Attorney General. The subpoena is seeking information
about the company’s compliance with state and federal antitrust and consumer
protection matters.

Halliburton
(
HAL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
dropped on heavy volume. The company said that the settlement from asbestos
claims may exceed previous forecasts of $2.78 billion due to an increase in the
number of claims.

General Electric
(
GE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was fractionally higher today after the company affirmed their second-quarter
targets of 37 to 39 cents a share. GE’s CFO, Keith Sherin, also came out with
full-year target between $1.55 and $1.70. This came after Merrill Lynch cut
their full-year target to $1.59 to $1.61 due to weakness in GE’s plastics
business.

Please feel free to email me
with any comments or questions.

Vincent Mao

These Two Numbers Are Important Now

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

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