Big Blue Going To Pull Us Through?
The markets opened weak Wednesday and
remained weak throughout the day.
Euphoria hit the markets after
Greenspan spoke to the House of Representatives, only to fade quickly and keeping the markets in the doldrums. In his speech, Greenspan noted that the
economic slowdown is nearing its bottom, but still faces some obstacles.
Analysts felt that Greenspan’s comments
indicated a possibility that the Federal Reserve Board may cut rates at the next
FOMC meeting in August.
Ahead of IBM’s
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announcement after the bell, the Dow Jones Industrials closed 0.4% lower. The
Nasdaq Composite also shed 2.4%.
Circuit City-Carmax
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in the session by tacking on 14.8%.
Fluor
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FLR |
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after the company announced that J. Michael Gallagher joined the company.
Cadence Design
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CDN |
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by Needham & Co. from Hold to Buy. The stock gained 10.0%.
Guidant
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after bottom pickers jumped in and started to buy.
DigitalThink
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higher 34.5% after the company reported a narrower-than-expected loss of 11
cents for Q1. According to Thomson Financial/First Call, analysts expected an
average loss of 13 cents.
BEI Technologies
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moved 15.6% higher.
Sectors leading the upward move were
the Gold and Silver Index
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which gained 3.3%; and the Healthcare Index
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Oakley
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OO |
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reported a 28% increase in earnings for Q2 which surpassed analyst estimates.
Advance Micro Devices
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AMD |
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12.4% after Prudential Securities lowered their rating on AMD from Buy to Hold
and lowered its price target to $22 from $28.
AOL Time Warner
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hammered after the company announced Q2 revenue numbers which did not meet
analysts’ expectations. AOL sank 9.9%.
Centillium Communications
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lost 38.1% after the company was downgraded by Thomas Weisel.
Veritas Software
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26.4%
after the company lowered its annual revenue growth forecast.
Sectors lagging in the session were
the Interactive Week Internet Index
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$IIX.X |
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PowerRating), which tumbled 5.9%; the
GSTI Internet Index
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$GIN.X |
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which shed 3.4%.
Until later,