Intel’s Report Was Good. But Tomorrow, Here’s Where The Action Will Be
Stocks were lower after two chip warnings and a
downgrade. The Dow and Nasdaq closed at 2005 lows. Yesterday,
Alcoa
(
AA |
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PowerRating)— the first company to report for the quarter–missed. The
market has only had one up-session so far this year. The $SOX has slid 10% from
December.
Advanced Micro Devices
(
AMD |
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PowerRating) warned on revenues. The company cited
a “competitive and challenging” flash memory environment.  Â
ST Microelectronics
(
STM |
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PowerRating) said margins for December were 31%, less
than the forecast 38-39%.The company blamed the shortfall on the weak dollar.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Hewlett Packard
(
HPQ |
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PowerRating) to ‘underweight.’
A NYSE seat fell below $1 million for the first time in nine years,
selling for $975,000. The record high was $2.6 million in 1999. Some speculate
that the NYSE trading floor may go away with proposed changes to accelerate
electronic trading. The price has fallen 50% over the past year.
A third case of Mad Cow disease was discovered in Alberta, Canada.
This could put a wrench in Bush’s plan to lift a ban on Canadian cattle.
After the close, Intel
(
INTC |
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Chart |
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PowerRating) reported 0.33 vs. a 0.31 estimate.
Revenues were vs. $9.6 billion vs. a $8.94 billion consensus. Net was $2.1
billion. 2005 cap ex guidance was good at $4.9 – $5.3 billion vs expectation of
$4 billion; tomorrow, look for action in semi equipment companies AMAT, KLAC and
NVLS.
Strong sectors were: Gold
(
XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.91%, Healthcare
Providers
(
HMO.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.21%, Oil Services
(
OSX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+0.09%.
Weak sectors were: Semis
(
SOX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -2.47%, Biotech
(
XTC.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -1.58%,
Internet
(
XBD.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -1.58%.
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| Dow | -64.81 | 10,556.22 |
| S&P 500 | -7.26 | 1182.99 |
| Nasdaq | -17.42 | 2,079.62 |
The dollar was -0.26 at
83.08
Crude Oil was +0.43 at
46.00
Gold was +0.80 to 421.60
2.2 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was negative.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1091 | Up Vol 160 |
| Declining | 2064 | Down Vol 462 |
| 1.89 | 2.88 | |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 828 | Up Vol 230 |
| Declining | 2133 | Down Vol 746 |
| 2.57 | 3.24 |
Stocks in the News
Genentech’s
(
DNA |
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PowerRating) Q4 profits fell short of expectations even after
reporting a 63% increase in Q4 profit.
Unisys
(
UIS |
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PowerRating) is now forecasting a Q4 loss.
Taser
(
TASR |
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News |
PowerRating) said some orders may be delayed in the first half of year
due to testing. Shares fell 30% today.
QLogic
(
QLGC |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) raised its Q3 outlook.
Williams Sonoma
(
WSM |
Quote |
Chart |
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PowerRating) said sales will be below expectations.
DR Horton
(
DHI |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported a 31% rise in Q4 sales and guided higher.
Brice Wightman
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