It’s A Lock: Here’s How
Traders are locking in profits ahead of the long
holiday weekend in a shortened week marked by light trade. Besides the
requirement to err on the side of caution while waging a war on terrorism,
and with a new case of anthrax, what else might have told traders to take
profits off the table or to short ahead of Thanksgiving?
Five days of multiple down indicators on the Market
Bias Indicators Page, that’s what. During the past four days, we’ve had three or more
down signals emanating from this collection of proprietary indicators, a
critical mass. Today we had six, an even stronger sign the major indices
could sell-off. Taken in conjunction with lighter trading and the cautious
play of going home flat or hedged over the holiday weekend, another day of
pulling back in the major averages is not surprising.
The Dow is down 73 at 9827, the Nasdaq is down 22.10 at
1858.41, and the S&P 500 is off 8.12 at 1134.54.
Microsoft
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PowerRating) is acting as an anchor on the
averages, down 1.62 at 63.79, after indicating it would take over a
half-billion-dollar charge for settlement of class action antitrust lawsuits. At least one broker found this a convenient juncture to downgrade the
stock on the grounds it is “overpriced.”
Chiron
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company said a drug formulated to treat sepsis failed to reduce deaths
within a month of its usage. The biotech is down 10% at 45.54.
But holding up the sector — the biotech sector
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$BTK.X |
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PowerRating) is down
less than 1% –Â is Amgen
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PowerRating), which is up 6% to 61.89 after the world’s No. 1
biotech outfit projected that sales of new anemia and arthritis agents will
bolster 2002 earnings. This is an increase in Amgen’s projected profits and
a positive for the sector.
Networkers
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$NWX.X |
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PowerRating), -2.38%, Internets
(
$GIN.X |
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PowerRating), -2.13%, and computer technology
(
$XCI.X |
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the weakest sectors. Healthcare
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PowerRating) is the only sector up more than
1%.