Two Things To Get Us Going

January 27, 2003
Daniel Beighley

Sellers ruled today’s session,
as the major averages moved to fresh three-month lows. Iraq was once again
perceived as an obstruction for buyers. Markets don’t like uncertainty, and it
is believed by many that we won’t truly rally until Saddam either 1) Goes into
exile or 2) The matter is resolved through war.

Standing out today, the 10-year
note moved out of synch with typical market selloffs as it also sold off with
the stock indexes.

There were no sectors closing
in positive territory today.

In economic news, existing
home sales beat expectations with a rate of 5.86M. Economists were looking
for a 5.62 level.

The Ten Year Note
(
TYH3 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was +125 at 114 095.

The US Dollar
(
DXH3 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) wasÂ +0.09 at 99.54.

Volume was slightly
below average, with the NYSE coming in at 1,409,241,000
and the Nasdaq at 1,427,057,000.

Market breadth was negative,
with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of 3.49, and down
volume over up volume by a 8.07 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues over advancing
issues came in at 2.25, and down volume beat up volume by a 3.03 ratio.

The

VIX was +4.00 at 39.77. The

TRIN was +0.58 at 2.31.

Leading the Dow lower were:

Stocks in the news:

Textile company Lear Corp.
(
LEA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +5.78% at 39.87, announced a contract with GM with an estimated value
of $825 million for designing, engineering, purchasing and delivering interiors
for new cars.

Tobacco company Phillip
Morris
(
MO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.64% at 38.65, officially changed its name to Altria
today.

Business product maker
Kimberly-Clark Company
(
KMB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.31% at 44.92, beat its fourth-quarter
earnings expectations by $0.02 with profits of $0.76 per share.

Food processor Tyson Foods
(
TSN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -10.87% at 10.24, missed its first-quarter earnings expectations by
$0.01 with profits of $0.15.

Hotel company Hilton Hotels
(
HLN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+0.15% at 25.44, announced that its earnings were up tenfold for the quarter,
though the company is cautious over 2003 earnings due to a soft economy.

In the retail sector, JC Penny
(
JCP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-4.22% at 18.57, said it expects same-store sales for stores open at least one
year to be less than expected, with flat to slightly higher growth.

Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department store
operator Federated Department Stores
(
FD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.05% at 25.91, has raised
its estimates, and now expects sales to be flat to down 2%.

Insurance company St. Paul Company
(
SPC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -4.15% at 31.45, missed its fourth-quarter earnings expectations by
$0.01 with profits of $0.81 per share.

Software maker Oracle
(
ORCL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.27% at 11.92, was the focus of a Barron’s article in
which the company’s CEO said revenue could get a boost at the end of the year
due to upgrade fees.

Financial services company
Freddie Mac
(
FRE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -4.24% at 56.60, has beat its fourth-quarter earnings
expectations by $0.07 with profits of $1.35 per share.

Investment services company
Lehman Brothers
(
LEH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.01% at 54.05, has been upgraded by Salomon
Smith Barney to “outperform” from “in-line.”

Healthcare facilities company
Quest Diagnostics
(
DGX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -3.03% at 52.65, has been downgraded by
Morgan Stanley to “underweight” from “equal-weight.”

danielb@tradingmarkets.com

Two Things To Get Us Going

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

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