What Would Be Normal…
After
gapping up on follow through from last Friday’s session, the major
averages entered downtrends that lasted into today’s close. News wise there was
little for the Bulls or Bears to get too excited about, and this week could be a
slow one with no major economic releases scheduled. Potential turbulence from
Iraq could be a wild card for market players, as UN inspectors have begun their
work in the country. As
Gary Kaltbaum mentioned in his latest article, it would be normal for the
market to rest near current resistance levels. But as always, we trade what is,
and not what should be.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed -1.07% at 8486.57. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
closed -1.04% at 900.36. The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed -1.23% at
1,393.71.
The biggest gainers were in
natural gas
(
$XNG.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.76%, healthcare providers
(
$RXH.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+1.66%, Internet
(
$ECM.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.54%, and biotechnology
(
$BTK.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+0.44%.
The day’s big losers were
retail
(
$RLX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -2.23%, banking
(
BKX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -2.03%,
gold and silver
(
$XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) , -1.92%, and transportation
(
$TRAN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-1.82%.
There were no economic releases
today.
The 10-year U.S. Note
was +055 at 113 290.
The Dollar was +0.19 at
105.38.
Volume was slightly below
average at 1,237,797,000 on the
NYSE, and 1,685,598,000
on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was negative,
with NYSE declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of 1.29, and down
volume over up volume by a 1.44 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues over advancing
issues came in at 1.36, and down volume beat up volume by a 1.17 ratio.
The
VIX was +0.28 at 31.11. The
TRIN was +0.49 at 1.12.
Wal-Mart Stores
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-3.26% at 53.68, led the Dow lower after it said same-store sales look to come
in at the low end of expectations for November.
AT& T Corp.
(
T |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-2.52% at 13.51, was also lower after being downgraded by Lehman Brothers to
“underweight” from “equal-weight”.
Also down were Citigroup
(
C |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), , -2.92% at 35.82, American Express
(
AXP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -2.41% at
36.74, United Tech
(
UTX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -2.28% at 61.58, and Boeing
(
BA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-1.84% at 30.92.
Stocks in
the news:
Communications service company
and Dow component AT& T Corp.
(
T |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -2.52% at 13.51, was downgraded by
Lehman Brothers to “underweight” from “equal-weight.”
Computer hardware maker
Hewlett Packard
(
HPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -0.23% at 16.86, was cited in a Barron’s
article as possessing better valuation in comparison to rival Lexmark.
Home improvement retailer
Lowe’s
(
LOW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -4.23% at 40.40, beat its third-quarter earnings estimates
by $0.03 with profits of $0.43 per share. Rival Home Depot
(
HD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
will announce earnings after the bell tomorrow.
Drug maker Bristol Myers
(
BMY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.03% at 24.54, received FDA approval for its drug Abilify, used to
treat schizophrenia.
Software maker Adobe
(
ADBE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-4.21% at 27.73, was downgraded by UBS Warburg to “hold” from “buy” based on
valuation.
Also in the software sector,
Computer Associates
(
CA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.52% at 15.35, said its founder Charles Wang
will be stepping down as chairman.
In the chip biz, Advanced
Micro Devices
(
AMD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.61% at 6.52, announced it will take a pre-tax
charge for the fourth-quarter between $300 million and $600 million, due to
restructuring and cost cutting plans.
Healthcare facilities company
Tenet Healthcare
(
THC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +44.81% at 18.75, said it had met with auditors
form the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Audit Services. The
stock was also cited in a Barron’s article as being “absurdly cheap.”
Toy maker Toys “R” Us
(
TOY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+21.63% at 12.65, announced a smaller loss than expected for the fiscal
third-quarter as its sales increased 4.3 percent. The company also said it is on
course for full year targets.