This Could Make Tomorrow Interesting

January 9, 2003
Daniel Beighley

Buyers
were in force today, as the three major indexes took out yesterday’s
highs on the heels of a slew ofÂ retail data. Tech stocks put in the
biggest gains, as the Nasdaq regained its 200-day moving average. The Dow and
the S&P have once again come up against significant trend lines on the
weekly chart, which could make Friday interesting. On a down note, The Semiconductor
Index
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) failed to make a strong close with the rest of
the market, which could mean a weaker open for this traditional market leader.

In economic news, initial
claims came in at 389,000 vs. expectations of 392,000, and wholesale
inventories came in at an expected 0.2%.

The Ten Year Note
(
TYH3 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was -1 075 at 112 190.

The U.S. Dollar
(
DXH3 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was +0.05 at 102.29.

Volume was slightly
above average, with the NYSE coming in at 1,489,624,000 and the Nasdaq at
1,674,622,000.

Market breadth was positive,
with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 2.40, and up
volume over down volume by a 5.45 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining
issues came in at 2.37, and up volume beat down volume by a 7.04 ratio.

The
VIX
was -1.54 at 26.88. The TRIN
was -1.19 at 0.43.

Leading the Dow higher were:

Stocks in the news:

Entertainment giant AOL Time
Warner
(
AOL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +3.24% at 14.33, was reported by the Washington Post
that it will take a $10 billion charge due to its deteriorating America Online
division.

Electronic retailer Best Buy
(
BBY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +12.04% t 27.34, raised its fourth-quarter earnings outlook to
$1.05-1.10 per share vs. a consensus of $1.03.

Retail giant Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +3.86% at 51.92, said its December sales rose 9.5 percent to $31.6
billion, while its same-store sales rose 2.3 percent.

Elsewhere in the retail sector,
Talbots
(
TLB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.05% at 28.27, reduced its fourth-quarter outlook to
$0.42-0.47 per share from previous guidance of $0.48-0.53, Limited Too
(
TOO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -11.57% at 18.25, issued an earnings warning for the fourth-quarter
with profits expected to be $0.72-0.74 per share vs. a consensus of $0.87. and Abercrombie
(
ANF |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +16.20% at 26.03, raised its fourth-quarter guidance to $0.86-$0.88
per share vs. previous guidance of $0.79.

A surprise came from catalog
retailer Williams Sonoma
(
WSM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -8.07% at 25.73, when the company’s
CEO announced he will be leaving the company after two years.

In the pharmaceutical business,
Shire Pharmaceuticals
(
SHPGY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -6.27% at 17.19, was downgraded by
Merrill Lynch to “neutral” from “buy.”

Cruise line company Royal
Caribbean
(
RCL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.34% at 17.45, sold off after Merrill Lynch
downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “buy.”

Business services company Accenture
Ltd.
(
ACN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -1.23% at 18.37, announced that their income for the fiscal
first-quarter increased 55%.

Beer brewer Anheuser-Busch
(
BUD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.76% at 50.17, rose after reporting record sales for 2002.

This Could Make Tomorrow Interesting

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

Quick Links

Company Info

Contact

Company Resources