When Will The Indices Break This Barrier?

February 27, 2003
Daniel Beighley

The
markets put in a day to the upside as the nation’s terror-alert level
was lowered to yellow from orange. Price action for the session opened higher
off the bell, dipped lower on new homes sales data, then shot to the day’s high
by 11:00 am ET. However, the 20-day moving averages on for the Dow and S&P
500 once again served as a ceiling, with price action closing in the middle of
its daily range. The Nasdaq closed just above its 20-day moving average. On a
positive note, durable goods put in their biggest increase since July.

In economic news, initial
jobless claims came in at 417K vs. estimates of 390K, durable orders
rose 3.3% vs. expectations of a 1.0% gain, new home sales were at 914K
vs. an expected 1050K, and the Help-Wanted Index came in at an expected
40.

The Ten Year Note
(
TYH3 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was +040 at 116 100.

The US dollar
(
DXH3 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was +0.18 at 99.87.

Volume was below
average, with the NYSE coming in at 1,259,649,000
and the Nasdaq at 1,262,025,000.

Market breadth was positive,
with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 2.07, and up
volume over down volume by a 2.72 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining
issues came in at 1.48, and up volume beat down volume by a 2.75 ratio.

The
VIX
was -1.84 at 35.18. The TRIN
was -0.44 at 0.76.

Biggest Dow gainers were:

Stocks in the news:

Drug maker Watson Pharmaceuticals
(
WPI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +9.57%
at 30.55, rallied after it was announced it had been granted approval from the
FDA to market its drug Oxytrol used to treat overactive
bladders.

Data storage company EMC Corp.
(
EMC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -4.92% at
7.14, was downgraded by Thomas Weisel to “market perform” from
“attractive” based on the belief that its quarterly results will be
less than expected, and valuation.Â Â

Biotech company Pharmaceutical Resources
(
PRX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+5.39% at 36.15, beat its fourth-quarter earnings estimates by $0.05 with
profits of $0.56 per share. The stock was a member of TM’s
Momentum List.

Also in the biotech sector, Bioreliance
(
BREL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-17.22% at 16.63, missed its fourth-quarter earnings by $0.04 with profits of
$0.31 per share. And, Biotech company Gilead Sciences
(
GILD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +2.31%
at 33.58, after the
New England Journal of Medicine reported that its drug Hespera
effectively treats hepatitis B without the complications other drugs give.

In the retail sector, Limited Brands
(
LTD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+1.25% at 11.26, beat its fourth-quarter earnings expectations by $0.03 with
profits of $0.67 per share. The company also said it expects 2003 to be
challenging.

Also in the retail biz, Men’s Wearhouse
(
MW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+18.15% at 14.12, shot up after beating its fourth-quarter estimates by $0.04
with profits of $0.50 per share.

Restaurant company Yum Brands
(
YUM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +3.93% at
23.50, backed its first-quarter estimates though said same-store sales were
likely to fall by 5%.

Security company InVision Technologies
(
INVN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+5.98% at 22.33, rallied after the company said it will buy German company Yxlon
International.

Software and programming company Take-Two Interactive
(
TTWO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +6.21% at 20.50, beat its first-quarter earnings expectation by
$0.04 with profits of $1.20 per share.

Broadcasting and cable TV company Comcast
(
CMCSK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+6.50% at 27.18, missed its fourth-quarter earnings expectations by $0.01 with
profits of $0.21 per share, though posted a narrower loss on higher revenue as
it guides higher.

Medical equipment maker Cooper Industries
(
COO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+3.88% at 28.34, beat its first-quarter earnings expectations by $0.02 with
profits of $0.44 per share.

danielb@tradingmarkets.com

When Will The Indices Break This Barrier?

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