Will This Be A Winning Wednesday?
Stocks
are higher this midday. After yesterday’s jump in the major indices,
stocks are showing some follow through this morning despite the worse-than-expected
durable goods data. The S&P 500 is near a 9-month high, the Nasdaq is near a
yearly high, and the Dow is near a four-month high. Biotechs are pulling back
after their recent runup. Meanwhile the almost lockstep relationship between
bonds and stocks appears to be over, as bonds are selling off again while
equities rally. The dollar bounced back today after hitting another four-year
low against the euro yesterday.
The Dow Jones Industrial
Average
(
$INDU.X |
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PowerRating) is +0.59% at 8,833.94. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
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PowerRating)
is +0.57% at 956.94. The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
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Chart |
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PowerRating) is +0.690% at
1567.44.
The day’s leading sectors are Broker
Dealers
(
$XBD.X |
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PowerRating), +2.15%, Internet
(
$INX.X |
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News |
PowerRating),
+1.82%, Retail
(
$RLX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.50%, Internet Commerice
(
$ECM.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+1.33%, and Networking
(
$NWX.X |
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Chart |
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PowerRating), +0.90%,
Weak today are Gold
(
$XAU.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
-3.51%, Biotech
(
$BTK.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -2.06% Oil Service
(
$OSX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
1.60% and Airline
(
$XAL.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -1.46%.
In economic news, Durable
Goods for April, fell 2.4% versus estimates of a 1% drop. This was also the
fourth decline in the last six months. Excluding transportation, durable goods
fell 1.5% and excluding defense, durables fell 1.5%.
The 10-year U.S. Note
is -125 at 118 050
The dollar is +0.84 at
93.65
Gold is -6.50 at 361.30
Crude Oil -0.47 at
28.88
Volume is heavy at
762,000,000 on the NYSE, and at 1,100,000,000 on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is
positive, with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of
1.38, and up volume over down volume by a 1.69 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues
over declining issues at 1.63, and up volume over down volume is at a 2.16
ratio.
Top Dow stocks are:
Hewlett Packard
(
HPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +3.80% at
19.39, McDonalds
(
MCD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +3.54% at 18.40, Walt Disney
(
DIS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +3.23%
at 19.48, Citigroup
(
C |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.71% at 41.27, and American Express
(
AXP |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+2.50% at 41.74.
Stocks in the news:
Costco Wholesale
(
COST |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is higher by 6% on heavy volume after reporting better-than-expected results.
The warehouse store retailer reported third-quarter earnings of 33 cents a share
compared to 28 cents a share during the same period a year ago. The company
topped estimates by 2 cents.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
(
KKD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is trading higher by 8% on very heavy volume. The company reported first-quarter
results of 22 cents a share vs. 15 cents a share from the same period a year
ago. The company’s results topped estimates by 2 cents.
Internet Media company Real
Networks
(
RNWK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is higher by 5.8% on almost triple its average volume.
The company unveiled a music-downloading subscription service called "Real
One Rhapsody." Unlike Apple’s Itunes, Real’s service requires a monthly
subscription fee of $9.95 and over 325,000 songs will be available at $0.79
each. .
Toll Brothers
(
TOL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is higher by 3% on heavy volume. The homebuilder reported second-quarter results
of 72 cents a share vs. 69 cents a share during the same period a year ago. The
company bested estimates by 4 cents.
Novellus Systems
(
NVLS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is fractionally higher today ahead of its mid-quarter call after tomorrow’s
close. Lehman Brothers expects the company to maintain guidance.
Specialty retailer Sharper
Image
(
SHRP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is fractionally higher after Wedbush Morgan initiated a
"buy" rating on the stock. Wedbush believes that the stock is
undervalued when compared to other specialty retailers.