Why Biotechs Bucked Downtrend
Stocks suffered another one-two punch
Friday as two networking giants issued warnings, accompanying negative news and
speculation surrounding key Dow stocks.
The Dow Jones industrials gave up
0.6%, the Nasdaq Composite 0.7%, the S&P 500 0.5%. Volume was up on both the
New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market, qualifying the session as a
distribution day.
Among the sectors, biotechs managed to
swim against the tide. The AMEX Biotech Index
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appears the market was in a mood to respond to news, either good or bad, with
former the case for the biotech sector.
Among the biotechs, Myriad Genetics
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which uses gene-based medicine to develop diagnostic products, rose 3.6%. The company
focuses on the emerging field of proteomics. Gilead Sciences
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5.1%. Gilead discovers and manufactures proprietary therapeutics for infectious
diseases and cancer. Protein Design Labs
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The Philadelphia Semiconductor
Index
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On the downside, the Philadelphia Gold
and Silver Index
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1.8%, the AMEX Internet Index
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Index
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Among the exchange-traded funds, which
form a good proxy for sectors and industries, the Telecom HOLDR
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1.8%, the Broadband HOLDR
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Nortel Networks and JDS Uniphase.
Nortel Networks
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company said it expects to report an operating loss of 48 cents a share vs.
expectations averaging a loss of 6 cents, according to First Call.
Fiber optic parts supplier JDS
Uniphase
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write-down in Q4, resulting in a loss of 6 cents to 8 cents per share. Wall
Street expected the company to earn 5 cents. The company earned 14 cents a year
ago.
Quanta Services
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26.6% after the contracting services provider for the power and
telecommunications industries slashed its second-quarter and full year 2001
guidance. Quanta said overnight that it expects earnings of between 35 cents and
38 cents a share in the June 30 quarter. This compares to earnings of 42 cents a
year ago and expectations averaging 53 cents.
Weighing on the Dow, Procter &
Gamble
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next fiscal year will be in line with current estimates, but growth will still
be below long-term goals. Microsoft
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profit warning, fell 1.3%. McDonald’s
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Q2 earnings below Wall Street expectations. The company said a strong U.S.
dollar and mad cow disease in Europe continue to hurt results.