Three Sectors Helping The Market

The markets have been mixed in the
first half of trading
following reports of lackluster retail sales and a
surprise dip in consumer sentiment.

At the opening bell, the Dow
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had a quick reversal within
the first half-hour. It shot up higher, then fell back down to yesterday’s
close, then rallied higher. Shortly after that, the Dow pulled back to hit its
intraday low at 10,140. By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was
trading around the 10,200 level. On Thursday, the Dow Industrials slumped 205.65
points, staging its worst decline since Feb. 4. Support at 10,200 is strong, and
the Dow has overhead resistance at 10,220 and secondary resistance at
10,260. A break and close above the 10,260 level will be positive going into
Monday trading.

The
Nasdaq Composite Index
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is holding on to its
morning gains and continues to trade positive. Volume has been light to
moderate. The Nasdaq fell 42 points in the previous session. The Nasdaq has
strong support at the 1740 area. Overhead resistance is at 1745 and secondary
resistance is at 1750.00. An afternoon rally could help the Nasdaq close above
the 1745 resistance level. The Nasdaq has been getting some help from the PHLX
SOX
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, which has been all over the place today.

One issue today is the Jetblue Airways
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IPO which opened for
trading and is taking off. It’s a low-fare, low-cost passenger airline
operating 100+ flights per day, serving 18 cities from its base in New York’s
JFK Int’l. Airport. Cyclicals remain mixed overall. Airlines and rails are showing good
strength, but machinery, paper and chemicals are negative today.

June gold
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is trading
slightly lower today. Gold looks to be forming a cup-and-handle pattern and
has resistance at $305.00 an ounce. June Gold affects
the movement of the PHLX Gold & Silver Index
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and some of
the gold mining stocks, such as Anglogold
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, Barrick Gold
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, Newmont
Mining
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and Placer Dome
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.

May crude oil
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is falling lower
today, breaking below its 38.2% Retracement level at 24.77 and finding support
at $24.00 a barrel. Crude oil is
putting pressure on the Amex Oil Index
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and the PHLX
Oil Service Index
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.

The Amex Biotech Sector
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is
trading higher this morning. Many of the stocks in the index are trading
positive. Some of the stocks that are the strongest and are pushing the sector
are Cephalon
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, Genentech
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, Medimmune
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,
Millennium Pharmaceuticals
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and Vertex Pharmaceuticals
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.

The PHLX Bank Sector Index
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is one of the positive sectors in the first half of trading. Some of the
stronger performers in the BKX are: Bank of America
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, JP Morgan
Chase
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, MBNA Corp
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, Bank of New York
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, State Street
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and Northern Trust
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.
The BKX is trading at 881.49 up 5.27.

Itron
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is breaking above its
resistance with strong volume and has made a 52-week high. ITRI has a

TradingMarkets.com RS3 rating of 91
and an uptrending
ADX of 23. Itron is trading at 34.86 up .71.

Anthem
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is forming a pullback from
high. ATH is currently up 0.11 to 60.95 and is carrying a

3-month relative strength rank of 85
from TradingMarkets.com.

Americredit
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is pulling back after
its thrust to the upside. ACF is up 1.25 to 42.60 and is holding a

3-month relative strength rank of 99
along with an uptrending
ADX of 42 from TradingMarkets.com.