What’s Behind Friday’s Weakness
At the mid-point of trading, U.S. stocks
are weaker after Merrill Lynch
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MER |
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shares and a government report showed factory production slumped for a third
month.
Intel
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MMM |
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GE |
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helped drag the Dow Jones Industrial Average
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$INDU |
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first weekly loss in six.
The Dow declined 66.52, or 0.8%, to
8475.61 at 12:34 p.m. ET. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index
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$SPX.X |
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fell 6.06, or 0.7%, to 898.21, with computer-related shares contributing
half its decline. The Nasdaq Composite Index
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$COMPQ |
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or 1.4%, to 1391.70.
For the week, the Dow has lost 0.7%. The S&P 500 has risen 0.4%
and is headed toward its fifth gain in six weeks. The Nasdaq has gained 2.4%.
While the S&P 500 has rallied 16% since its five-year low on
Oct. 9, it’s still set to record its third year of losses.
The S&P 500 Index is just chopping sideways with
really no movement in either direction. Support is at 890 and the resistance
level is at 908. Secondary resistance is at 915.
Strong Sectors:
Retail
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$RLX.X |
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PowerRating), Health Care, Managed Care, Gold
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$XAU.X |
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Weak Sectors: Semiconductor
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$SOX.X |
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PowerRating), Semiconductor Equipment,
Advertising, Biotech
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$BTK.X |
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PowerRating), Comp. Hardware, Storage, Network equip.,
Airline
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$XAL.X |
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PowerRating)
Biosite
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BSTE |
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PowerRating) is
rallying from a pullback from the high after testing the 20-day EMA. BSTE has a
TradingMarkets.com RS3 rating of 90.
Electro Scientific
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ESIO |
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PowerRating) is breaking
out of a cup-and-handle pattern on the daily chart. ESIO has very strong volume
for this time of the day. ESIO has a
TradingMarkets.com RS3 rating of 90 and an up trending
ADX of 32.
Pre-Paid Legal Services
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PPD |
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PowerRating) is
hitting a 2-month high with increasing volume. It has broken above the 50% and
61.8% retracement levels and has touched 70.7% level today. PPD has a
TradingMarkets.com RS3 rating of 83 and an uptrending
ADX of 30.
Nasdaq Market Breadth
Adv: 1132 UpVol: 2597659
Dec: 1853 DnVol: 5372529
Net: -721 Net: -2774870
NYSE Market Breadth
Adv: 1506 UpVol: 29168567
Dec: 1588 DnVol: 42079943
Net: -82 Net: -12911376