Impressive, Four Out Of Five
Major market measures are on target to close higher for the fourth week in five as indices continue to shrug off negative news and signs of economic sluggishness.
The Dow is up 35 at 9498, the S&P 500 is up 1.86 at 1101, and the Nasdaq Composite is down 3.51 at 1771.96. For the week, the indices are on track to add between 3% and 7%.
One key indicator traders are watching is consumer sentiment. The war on
terrorism, concerns about bio-terrorism, and weak economic data are all factors that could make consumers stay home and save money rather than open
their wallets to stimulate the economy. Consumer spending accounts for up to two-thirds of the economic activity.
But the economic observers were encouraged today when the Michigan Consumer Sentiment index rose to 82.7 from 81.8 the previous month.
But poor corporate performances continue to plague certain sectors. JDS Uniphase
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PowerRating), a fiber optic component giant, is down 9% after reporting sales slid by more than one-half. Last quarter, JDSU reported the biggest quarterly loss in corporate history. Last July, JDSU had one of the largest market capitalizations in the market with a corresponding weighting on the Nasdaq 100
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PowerRating) that put it on par with
Intel
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PowerRating), Cisco
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PowerRating) and Microsoft
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PowerRating).
The domain name sign-up and security outfit VeriSign
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PowerRating) also reported slower sales and is off nearly 20%.
With the continued prosecution of the war on terrorism, defense companies are making gains. Lockheed
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PowerRating) climbed .80 to 49.70 after forecasting its profits would rise.
And Tomahawk missile maker Raytheon
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PowerRating) is up 2%.