Why Friday Was A Positive Sign…
The
markets traded in narrow ranges for the session, though were able to
stage rallies going into the close. The biggest gainers were in insurance,
Internet, pharmaceuticals, and computer technology, with gold and silver,
telecoms, and networking taking the heaviest losses.
At this juncture, we can take
it as a positive sign the markets were able to close strong going into the
weekend after yesterday’s horrific sell off in the semis. The question still
remains as to whether or not Wednesday’s huge turnaround day will mark a bottom.
Tim
Truebenbach is looking for a 2% increase on a major index beginning this
Monday for signs of a real turnaround.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
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$INDU.X |
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S&P 500
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closed up 1.77% at 1262.07.
U.S. Treasury Bonds were
down ‘9 at 105 ’29.
In economic news, the University of Michigan’s sentiment
number surpassed expectations with a reading of 88.1. The analysts consensus was
for 86.5.
Market breadth was positive,
with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 1.36, and up
volume over down volume by a 1.14 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining
issues came in at 1.23, and up volume beat down volume by a 1.44 ratio. The
VIX
was down 4.21 at 40.44. The TRIN
was down 0.63 at 1.28.
Average volume had the Dow and S&P 500 trading
in narrow ranges. The Semiconductor Index
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$SOX.X |
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PowerRating), down 3.04%,
closed in the middle of its range. The Broker/Dealer Index
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$XBD.X |
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up 6.82%, closed at the top of its daily range.
The top sectors of the day were the S&P
Insurance Index
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$IUX.X |
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Internet Index
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Losing
sectors of the day were the Gold and Silver Index
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$XAU.X |
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down 6.32% at 55.73, and the North American Telecoms Index
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PowerRating),
down 4.72% at 316.34.
Communications equipment maker
Qualcomm (QCMOM),
up 1.28% at 25.98, beat its third-quarter earnings expectation by 2 cents with
earnings of 24 cents a share, and has increased its forecast for the rest of the
year.
Chip maker Varian
Semiconductor (VAR),
up 4.16% at 38.26, beat its third-quarter earnings expectations by 2 cents with
profits of 32 cents per share. The company expects sales to increase in the low
teens for 2003.
Plastics and rubber company
Eastman Chemical (EMN),
down 2.33% at 42.66, beat its second-quarter earnings expectations by 12 cents
with profits of 58 cents per share. Revenues fell 0.5%
from a year ago.
Biotech company Icos Corp.
(ICOS),
up 5.52% at 19.09, missed its second-quarter earnings expectations by 11 cents
with profits of 66 cents per share. Revenues fell 34.7%
from a year ago.
Conglomerate General Electric
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GE |
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27.80, announced it is reorganizing its financial services operations by
splitting it into four different parts.
Healthcare facilities company HCR Manor
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PowerRating),
up 6.05% at 19.62, beat its second-quarter earnings expectations by a penny with
profits of 35 cents a share, and was highlighted in Business Week with
bullish comments from investment firm manager Elliot Schlang.
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