Greenspan Stands Firm On Interest Rates But Here’s What Stocks Are Doing

Stocks are trading slightly higher today.  Equities
are recovering after earlier losses brought on by Fed Chairman Greenspan’s
testimony that gave little hint to the ending of the recent rate hikes. The Fed
Chairman commented “The most recent data support the view that the soft readings
on the economy observed in the early spring were not presaging a more serious
slowdown in the pace of activity”. He also repeated that the Fed can continue to
raise rates at a “measured pace”. 

In economic news, weekly jobless claims fell by 21,000 to 330,000 or inline
with estimates.

Shares of Google
(
GOOG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
are rebounding today after falling over
12 points yesterday.  Merrill Lynch raised the Internet giant’s 2006
revenue estimates to $5.2 billion from $5.1 billion.

After the bell, Intel
(
INTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
will give their mid-quarter update. 
RBC Capital Markets raised the company’s Q3 estimates from 33 cents to 36 cents
a share.

Maurice “Hank” Greenberg is resigning from the board of American
International Group

(
AIG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
. Mr. Greenberg announced, “My decision to
resign now results from my inability to receive information regarding the
company and its operations necessary to fulfill my fiduciary duties”.

Strong sectors are:  Oil Services

(
$OSX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+2.17%  Energy
(
$DXE.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

+1.72%    Networking
(
$NWX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+1.09%    

      

Weak sectors are:    Gold Bugs
(
$HUI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

-0.86%    Transports
(
$TRANX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-0.65%    
Gold & Silver
(
$XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-0.57%

Dow +20.84 10,497.70
Nasdaq +3.24 2063.42
S&P 500 +3.20 1197.87

The dollar is +0.26 at
88.16

Crude Oil is +0.76 at
53.30

Gold is -2.7 at 422

ce=”Arial” size=”2″ face=”Arial”>Volume is 549 million on the NYSE and
661 million on the Nasdaq.

Market breadth is mixed

NYSE Issues
Advancing 1380 Up Vol 294
Declining 1635 Down Vol 250
0.84 1.17
Nasdaq
Advancing 1307 Up Vol 340
Declining 1459 Down Vol 304
0.89 1.12

Stocks in the News

 

Navistar
International

(
NAV |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
  reported better than expected second quarter
income and raised sales forecast.

H&R Block 
(
HRB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
reported a 7% increase in quarterly profit.

HealthSouth
(
HLSH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims
brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Adtran Inc
(
ADTN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
raised its second quarter revenue forecast to $114
million to $116 million.

 

Brice Wightman

 

 

 

Â