All Eyes On Intel… Here’s Why
Stocks are
trading higher today. Jobless claims
rose to 365,000 last week, much higher than the expected 354,000. Intel
(
INTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is slated to provide a mid-quarter update after the closing bell, with analysts expecting an upward revision to revenue forecasts.
Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported same-store sales for November rose 3.9%; Target sales
(
TGT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) were up 6.2%, well ahead of the 5.1% predicted by analysts.
Department stores such as Kohls
(
N |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Sears
(
S |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) missed
November sales targets while higher-end stores like Nordstrom
(
JWN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
reported better results. OPEC announced it would leave oil production unchanged,
but hinted it might be cut production the next time they meet on Feb. 10 2004. GE
(
GE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) announced plans for major reorganization to boost growth in its media,
transportation, healthcare and advanced material divisions.
| Dow | +37.14 | 9910.21 |
| S&P 500 | +2.36 | 1068.45 |
| Nasdaq | -3.15 | 1957.45 |
The day’s leading sectors are
Hardware
(
HWI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.45%,
Networking
(
$NWX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.44%, Semiconductors
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+0.25%, and Healthcare
(
$HCX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.08%.
Weak today are Airlines
[XAL.X|XAL.X] -3.80%, Amex Gold Bugs [HUI.X|HUI.X]
3.36%, and Gold and Silver [XAU.X|XAU.X]
-2.46%.
Economic news releases included
initial claims at 365,000.
10-year Notes are +70
at 112 025
The dollar
is +0.07 at 89.64.
Gold is -2.10 at 401.80.
Crude Oil is +.10 at
31.20.
Volume is 699,000,000 on
the NYSE, and 1,007,000,000 on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is mixed.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1495 | Up Vol 359 |
| Declining | 1596 | Down Vol 314 |
| Ratio | 1.07 | 1.12 |
| Nasdaq | ||
| Advancing | 1313 | Up Vol 543 |
| Declining | 1744 | Down Vol 491 |
| Ratio | 1.31 | 1.10 |
Top Dow stocks are:
SBC
(
SBC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+2.54% at 23.71, Alcoa [AA|AA],
+2.40% at 35.38, AT&T [T|T],
+2.13% at 38.41, and Intl Paper
(
IP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +1.70% at 39.98.
Stocks in the news:
Southwest airlines
(
LUV |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
shares fell 6% despite reporting higher traffic volume for the month of
November. The company flew 3.8 billion revenue passenger miles last month, up
0.4 billion when compared to the same period last year. Vice Chairman James
Parker also warned investors on higher energy costs for the fourth quarter.
Career Education
(
CECO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) continued
its slide. The media received a letter from former employees alleging management
told employees to commit forgery, fraud or perjury to pass audit inspections.
Qualcomm
(
QCOM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
upped its earnings and revenue growth outlook for the first quarter due to
stronger demand for wireless phones and digital cameras. It expects to earn 47
to 48 cents. Shares are trading 7% higher on the news.
Del Monte
(
DLM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
posted second-quarter net income of $40.2 million on sales of $812 million. The
huge increase in revenue was due to the acquisition of StarKist and other Heinz
divisions.
bricew@tradingmarkets.com