What’s Pulling Up The SOX?
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said
an economic recovery, while “well under way,” would be “moderate.”
Investors sold shares that have rallied over the past week on concern that
gains outstripped prospects for earnings growth.
The S&P 500 Index
(
$SPX |
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News |
PowerRating)
is dropping, led by General Electric
(
GE |
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PowerRating), and drug shares slid as
Sepracor
(
SEPR |
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News |
PowerRating) plunged. The decline pared a gain of 5% the past week, fueled by investors’
expectations an economic rebound will drive faster-than-expected profit growth.
The P/E ratio of the S&P 500 is about 20% above last
September’s level when the stock benchmark reached a three-year low. The S&P, up 20% the past six months, trades at about 23 times forecast
earnings, compared to 19 last September. It traded at about 24 times at the
March 2000 peak.
The Dow Jones industrial Average
(
$INDU |
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News |
PowerRating)
is lower and near the worst levels of the day due to profit-taking. And the
Nasdaq
(
$COMPX |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is now pulling back after being in positive territory
for most
of the session.
Many retailers are reporting February sales today, most of which have been
positive. Best Buy
(
BBY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is raising its Q4 guidance to a range of
$1.58-1.63, which is comfortably ahead of the current First Call consensus
estimate of $1.40. Also, Pier One
(
PIR |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) has guided higher. Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) has come out and said that it is in line with its estimates.
The S&P Retail Index
(
$RLX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is positive on the day, trading at
945.23 up 6.65. Some of the stocks that are helping push the Retail Index are
BBY and WMT as well as Autozone
(
AZO |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Costco
(
COST |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), JC Penney
(
JCP |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
Kohl’s
(
KSS |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and TJX Companies
(
TJX |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating).
April gold
(
GCJ2 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is testing its
support at $290.00 an ounce. Gold influences the
PHLX Gold & Silver Index
(
$XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating). Some of the stocks in the gold sector are Anglogold
(
AU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
Barrick Gold
(
ABX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Newmont Mining
(
NEM |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating).
The
S&P Banks Index
(
$BIX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is stronger today. Some of the stocks
helping move the BIX are: Bank Of America
(
BAC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Northern Trust
(
NTRS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
Suntrust Banks
(
STI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Wachovia Corp
(
WB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating).
The dollar
(
DXH2 |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is lower today vs. the
Japanese yen
(
JYH2 |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating). Talk of repatriation ahead of Japan’s fiscal
year-end (March 31) is contributing to the weakness. Also, analysts have
been advising investors to increase their holdings of Japanese stocks. The
AMEX Japan Index
(
$JPN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) has been moving higher for the
past several days.
The
PHLX Semiconductor Sector
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is close to trading near its highs of the day. Some of the
stocks helping push the SOX higher are: KLA-Tencor
(
KLAC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Applied
Materials
(
AMAT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Novellus Systems
(
NVLS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Broadcom
(
BRCM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Texas
Instruments
(
TXN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and National Semiconductor
(
NSM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is trading
higher after being halted.
Illinois Tool Works
(
ITW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is trading in a
small triangle on the daily chart. ITW carries a
3-month relative strength rank of 80 and an uptrending ADX of 32 from
TradingMarkets.com.
Continental Airlines
(
CAL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is forming a
flag pattern at its recent high. CAL is holding a
3-month relative strength rank of 97 from TradingMarkets.com.
Avery Dennison
(
AVY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is forming a pullback
from high. AVY is holding a
3-month relative strength rank of 80 and an uptrending ADX of 31 from
TradingMarkets.com.
Autodesk
(
ADSK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is bouncing off the
20-day moving average. ADSK is currently holding a
3-month relative strength rank of 87 from TradingMarkets.com.
Stanley Works
(
SWK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is pulling back from
its high of three days ago. SWK holds a
3-month relative strength rank of 80 from TradingMarkets.com.