What’s Been Ruling These Rallies
The
markets showed their strength again, as the major indexes powered
higher on less-than-spectacular news over the economy. Next week, the Federal
Reserve will meet, where it is widely expected another interest rate cut will be
in store. Technology has been ruling these recent rallies, though trading before
Fed meetings is often lackluster, and may extend the recent narrow ranges the
indexes have been in.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU.X |
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PowerRating) closed +1.43% at 8517.64. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
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PowerRating)
closed +1.71% at 900.96. The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
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PowerRating) closed +2.32% at
1,360.71.
The day’s advances were in
networking
(
$NWX.X |
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PowerRating), +8.13%, semiconductors
(
$SOX.X |
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PowerRating),
+6.06%, oil service
(
$OSX.X |
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PowerRating), +5.07%, and gold and silver
(
$XAU.X |
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PowerRating), +4.68%.
There were no losing sectors.
Economic news was abundant
today as the unemployment rate came in at 5.7% vs. an expected 5.8%,
nonfarm payrolls fell 5,000 vs. an expected gain of 50,000. Construction
spending was 0.6% vs. an expected 0.2%, and the ISM Index was 48.5
vs. an expected 47.0.
The 10-year U.S. Note
was -150 at 114 080.
The Dollar was -0.57 at
106.25.
Volume was above average,
at 1,411,484,000 on the NYSE, and
1,830,574,000 on
the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was positive,
with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 2.55, and up
volume over down volume by a 2.96 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining
issues came in at 2.09, and up volume beat down volume by a 6.53 ratio.
The
VIX was -1.93 at 33.98. The
TRIN was -0.84 at 0.85.
Leading the Dow higher were:
SBC Communications
(
SBC |
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PowerRating),
+6.19% at 27.25, Intel Corp.
(
INTC |
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PowerRating), +5.78% at 18.30, Alcoa
(
AA |
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PowerRating),
+4.48% at 23.05, Philip Morris
(
MO |
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PowerRating), +4.07% at 42.41, JP Morgan
(
JPM |
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PowerRating), +3.71% at 21.52, and AT&T
(
T |
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PowerRating), +3.68% at 13.522.
Stocks in the news:
Tax services company H&R
Block
(
HRB |
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PowerRating), -7.72% at 40.95, sold off on fears of class action
lawsuits.
Healthcare facilities company
Tenet Healthcare
(
THC |
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PowerRating), -7.82&% at 26.50, dropped on continued
concerns over investigations by the government.
Entertainment provider
Blockbuster Entertainment
(
BBI |
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Chart |
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PowerRating), -1.62% at 23.58, fell after it
announced it will transform 4,400 stores into selling DVD’s, videos, and games
rather than just renting them. The new strategy is designed to compete against
Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
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PowerRating), +1.86% at 54.55.
Drug maker Andrx
(
ADRX |
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PowerRating),
+18.89% at 18.37, announced the launch of a generic version of Prilosec.
Insurance company Cigna
(
CI |
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PowerRating), +6.25% at 38.40, beat its third-quarter earnings estimates by $0.02
with profits of $1.49 per share. The company has also issued guidance for 2003
at $6.25-$6.50 per share vs. a consensus of $5.85.
Biotech company Imclone
(
IMCL |
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PowerRating), +8.93% at 7.80, rose after submitting plans for new Erbitux trials.
Also in the biotech biz,
Gilead Sciences
(
GILD |
Quote |
Chart |
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PowerRating), +5.06% at 26.50, beat its earnings expectations
by $0.11 with profits of $0.18 per share.