Indexes Rally from Oversold Conditions

• February 7, 2008
• John Patrick Lee

Stocks rallied today after 3 big down days. The major markets rallied from
oversold conditions, despite mostly negative reports out of U.S. retailers that
painted a negative picture of U.S. consumer health.

Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rallied 1.9%, despite reporting disappointing sales
results for January (full
story).

Wet Seal
(
WTSLA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rallied over 2% after posting lower net sales,
but raised its Q4 earnings target (full
story).

J.C. Penney’s
(
JCP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rallied 8.6%, after the company reported
January sales numbers that beat analyst estimates (full
story).

Children’s Place
(
PLCE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rallied 18.9%, after the company reported
that same store sales increased 6% in January, much more than sales expected (full
story).

Crude oil futures rallied over 1%, as traders took advantage of relatively
lower prices. Gold also rallied nearly 1%, in line with crude oil futures.

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Market Snapshot

Dow + 46.90 12247.00 NASDAQ + 14.28 2293.03 S&P 500 + 10.45 1336.90

Strongest/Weakest Industry Groups

Strongest Industries % Change Weakest Industries % Change Apparel Stores +4.58% Telecommunications -1.33% Business/ Management Services +4.06% General Contractors -1.30% Electronic Equipment +4.01% Insurance Brokers -1.26%

Economic News

U.S. pending home sales index fell 1.5% in December, more than expected.