Automaker Will Give Away 1000 Cars This Winter
Stocks
opened strong today.
Construction numbers up 1.2% topping forecasts of +0.5% helped buoy
stock indices. Software maker Siebel
(
SEBL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) raised fourth-quarter
numbers from higher license revenues. It now expects revenues of $365 million
and earnings of 8 cents per share. Drug maker Eli Lilly
(
LLY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) warned
investors that there may be a substantial one-time charge for merger-related
costs in the first quarter of 2004. Gold
(
GCJ4 |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) prices rose past
$424 an ounce on the dollar’s continued weakness. The euro rose to $1.2694
against the dollar.
| Dow | +72.48 |
10482.30 |
| S&P 500 | +7.07 | 1115.68 |
| Nasdaq | +24.71 |
2031.48 |
The day’s leading sectors are
Amex Gold Bugs
(
HUI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +3.61%, Semis
(
SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.80%,
Telecoms
(
XTC.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.58%, Disk Drive
(
DDX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.38%,
Networking [GIP.X|GIP.X] +2.24%, ,
Weak today is Healthcare
(
HMO.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -4.11%, and Airlines
(
XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -0.72%.
Economic news releases included
Construction Spending, up 1.2%.
10-year Notes are -45
at 111 065
The dollar
is -0.58 at 86.35
Gold is -7.10 at 424.30
Crude Oil is +1.02 at
32.85
Volume is 632,000,000 on
the NYSE, and 1,100,000,000 on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is positive.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 2042 | Up Vol 425 |
| Declining | 1096 | Down Vol 185 |
| Ratio | 1.97 | 2.30 |
| Nasdaq | ||
| Advancing | 1930 | Up Vol 729 |
| Declining | 1128 | Down Vol 343 |
| Ratio | 1.72 | 2.17 |
Top Dow stocks are:
SBC Comm
(
SBC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +3.06% at 26.94,
AT&T [T|T],
+2.43% at 31.38, Caterpillar |CAT|CAT],
+1.91% at 84.11, and ExxonMobil [XOM|XOM],
+1.80% at 41.48.
Stocks in the news:
Isis Pharmaceuticals
(
ISIS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported
optimistic results from its rheumatoid arthritis drug’s mid-stage clinical
trials. It said the level of response to the drug suggested that longer or
higher dosages may increase effectiveness.
General Motors
(
GM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) announced a
marketing campaign to give away 1000 automobiles over the winter season. The
promotion is expected to cost $50 million, bringing in 5.5 million customers to
try their luck at local dealerships.
Barron’s reported that AstraZeneca
(
AZN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) may face risks from two new drugs related to reducing cholesterol and
preventing strokes. Drugs named in the report were Crestor and Exanta.
Retailer Walgreen
(
WAG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported a 10%
increase in net profit of $254.9 million on $8.72 billion revenue. Prescription
sales rose 18% and accounted for 64% of total revenue.
bricew@tradingmarkets.com