A Potential Catalyst To Propel The Markets
Market volume Monday was dismal
ahead
of Cisco Systems’
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the sidelines ahead of the tech company’s scheduled earnings report. CSCO closed lower
2.2%.
Is Cisco going to be the catalyst to
move the markets? Some analysts feel that if CSCO were to announce some
numbers indicating that we are bottoming out, then it could have some impact on
the markets, however one should not be overly optimistic that this will be the
case.
We should watch Retail Sales
for July numbers, which are due out Thursday. A good retail sales number could
possibly propel the markets higher as it shows whether consumer spending has
gained velocity or not.
With Salomon Smith Barney lowering
estimates on Intel’s
(
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Intel weighed heavily on the markets all through the trading session.
The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.5%, and the
Dow Jones Industrials fell 1.0% as the broader markets ended in the red for the
day.
Breadth for the day was negative
as NYSE advancers fell behind decliners 1,206 to 1,868. Nasdaq advancers
lagged decliners 1,151 to 2,015 on very low volume.
Individual stocks gaining in the
session:
US Airways Group
(
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after it rejected a $1.8 billion bid from Global Airlines;
Arbitron
(
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after the company reaffirmed its financial outlook for 2001;
Energen
(
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and closed up 4.3%;
Professional Detailing
(
PDII |
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7.0%;
NVIDIA
(
NVDA |
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gained 3.0% and tacked on 2.64 points after pulling back from its highs made a
couple of weeks ago.
Cerner Corp
(
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3.2% gaining 1.75 points.
Macrovision
(
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5.2%.
Looking at individual losers:
Footwear
maker Genesco
(
GCO |
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Q2, Q3 and full year estimates.
IBP Inc
(
IBP |
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on news that Tyson
(
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Toy store chain, Toys "R" Us
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fell 9.4%.
Medical tech stock Polymedica
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slipped 32.1%, after issues concerning inconsistent billing practices to the
Federal health insurance program arose from an article in Barron’s this
weekend.
Colt Telecommunications
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shares lost 19.5% after posting a wider-than-expected loss for the quarter ending
June 30, 2001.
Sectors in the green were:
The Gold and
Silver Index
(
$XAU.X |
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The Mexico Index
(
$MXY.X |
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up 0.6% as it is finding some resistance at its 50-day moving average.
And the Airline Index
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moved up 0.3% with the help of US Airways Group
(
U |
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Lagging sectors were:
The Securities
Broker Dealer
(
$XBD.X |
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poised to continue downward.
The Semiconductor Index
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slid 1.5% after putting in a decent performance early last week. The index
appears to have found support at its 200-day moving average.
Also losing ground was the Retail
Index
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which closed lower 1.2%