How To Deal With A Memory Lapse
Micron
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halting a two-day rally that followed one of the market’s worst weeks ever.
The largest US maker of memory chips cited plummeting sales, underscoring
the perception that corporate earnings are going to be difficult to produce
as the economy careens into recession.
The Nasdaq is down 35.52 at 1466.12, the Dow is down
121 at 8539, and the S&P 500 is down 8.81 at 1003.46.
Micron said sales fell nearly 80%, resulting in a
loss 76 cents a share. Analysts had expected a loss of half that amount, or
34 cents.
Today’s poor showing is sending the stock to its lowest
level in three years, down 3.24 at 18.00. The downside surprise is also
spilling over into the broader semiconductor sector
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index down 6.91%.
The most heavily weighted stock on the
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Xilinx
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equipment maker KLA-Tencor
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But there was an early warning that the memory chip
giant could lapse. Micron
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Technology List, indicating the stock was in trouble and suggesting it
could be a shorting opportunity.
The market is otherwise performing defensively, with
gold and silver
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the only areas of the market up more than 1%.
In a previous installment of Market Flash, insurance
brokers were one of the few groups to see unusual momentum during last week’s
dismal performance. Earlier in today’s session, TradersWire Interactive
pointed out that Marsh & McLennan
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was breaking out of a consolidation-on-high pattern. The stock rallied
nearly $2 after the alert and is now up 2.84 at 91.50. MMC is up more than
10% since its lows on Friday.