Green At Last, But Will It Last?
Today’s recap is being written
by Brice Wightman.
The Dow reversed a three-day decline, closing up
163.58 at 10404.70, or 1.6% in moderately active trading. The average rallied
over 100 points in the second half of the trading session.
The Nasdaq followed suit, closing up 24.75 at
1983.99 and below the magic 2000 level for the second straight day. The Nasdaq
continues in a downward trend channel.
Chip and circuit board designer QLogic
(
QLGC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
gapped down after giving a second-quarter sales and profit warning. The stock
traded down as much as 20% during the session, skidding 6.17 to close at 34.57.
Linear Technology
(
LLTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported a Q4
profit that matched estimates, but on lower sales. Robert Swanson, the company’s
CEO also announced “modest reductions” in staff. LLTC closed at 37.79,
down 1.93.
Also gapping down was Reader’s Digest
(
RDA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
after a warning on their fourth quarter. RDA closed at 21.90, down 1.86.   Â
Dollar Tree Stores
(
DLTR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), the
dollar-or-less retailer, warned that second-half sales would slow, hurting
margins. DLTR dropped 6.15 to 26.97.
Software maker Peoplesoft
(
PSFT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat
estimates by .02 and guided higher. Salomon Smith Barney raised their opinion on
the stock to a “buy” from “outperform.” PSFT gained 4.16, to
close at 38.40.
Health insurer Aflac (
(
AFL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped after
announcing slower growth in Japan, which accounts for three-quarters of its
earnings. Japanese regulators recently allowed other insurers to sell
supplemental health policies. AFL slipped 3.35 to 28.20.
Shares in depressed Lucent
(
LU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) got a boost
from Lehman Brothers, who upped the troubled telecom company to a “strong
but” from a “market perform,” with an 18-month price target of
$18. LU closed at 6.67, up .24.
Drug stocks matched expectations. Schering-Plough
(
SGP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed at 37.20, down .75., Pharmacia
(
PHA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed at 42.12, up
.12, and Bristol Myers-Squibb
(
BMY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rallied 2.08 to 56.77.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals halted trading before the
open, pending FDA news. Federal regulators called the effectiveness of the
experimental diabetes drug Symlin “trivial.”
Strong sectors included Retail
(
$RLX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) up
19.09, Oil
(
$XOI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) up 20.36, and telecommunications
(
$XTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 26.86
As of today, 298 of the S&P 500 companies
have reported their earnings.
Following Merrill Lynch’s lead, Credit Suisse
First Boston will bar its analysts from owning stocks in companies they follow.
OPEC announced it’s going to cut production by a
million barrels per day to bolster falling crude prices.
Finally, the New York Stock Exchange is letting
150 clerks go, and will replace them with automated systems.