Market Now Waiting…
Better-than-expected retail sales and jobless
claims reports and European rate cuts sent the indexes higher in the morning,
but a ruthless decline that began around 2:00 p.m. sent the Nasdaq and S&P for a
loss and the Dow to just a small gain.
The Dow closed up 9587.45, up 33.08 on 1.4
billion shares.
The Nasdaq closed at 1827.72, down 9.81 on 2.1
billion shares, down only the second time in seven sessions.
The S&P 500 at 1118.53, up 2.73.
Today’s action has both the S&P 500 and the
Dow closing with tails.
Oil Services
(
$OSX.X |
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PowerRating), up 2.36%, utilities
(
$UTY.X |
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PowerRating), up 1.63%, and airlines
(
$XAL.X |
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PowerRating), up 1.19%, were
strongest, while gold
(
$XAU.X |
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PowerRating), down 3.83%, and biotech
(
$BTK.X |
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PowerRating),
down 2.95%, were the weakest. The
(
$SOX.X |
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PowerRating),
up 5% in the morning, fizzled to close down 2.3% at 507.45.
The Bank of England and the European Central Bank
lowered rates by 1/2 point.
Tomorrow sees the release of the Michigan consumer sentiment index, as well as
October’s producer price index.
Siebel Systems
(
SEBL |
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PowerRating) announced that its
business was picking up. The stock picked up too, up .56 to close at 22.75.
Though it was the smallest gain in six years,
October same-store sales rose a better-than-forecast 2.3%. Sales
at retailers Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
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PowerRating) (up .68 to 54.50) and Kohl’s
(
KSS |
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PowerRating) (up .37
to 61.31) were strong, while sales at The Gap
(
GPS |
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PowerRating) (down .21 to13.62) and
Abercrombie & Fitch
(
ANF |
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PowerRating) (down .82 to 18.28) were weak. The Retail Index
(
$RLX.X |
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PowerRating) was pushed back from its 200-day moving average today, closing
at 841.72, up 3.58.
Barnes and Noble
(
BKS |
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PowerRating) shares fell 35% after
the company warned that full-year earnings would fall short of expectations by a
wide margin — citing fewer bookworms after the terrorist attacks. First Call
estimated $1.60 for 2001 — the company said it anticipates the range now to be
$1.08 – $1.12. BKS closed at 24.48, down 13.60.
Enron
(
ENE |
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PowerRating) announced it will restate three
years of financials –1997-2000 — amid buyout talks with Dynegy
(
DYN |
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PowerRating). The
company also fired its treasurer today. ENE closed 8.41, down .64.
After the close, Disney
(
DIS |
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PowerRating) reported .06
vs. .07 estimate. DIS closed at 18.84, up .38.
Nasdaq Chairman Hardwick Simmons said that, by
the end of next year, he wants to merge the Nasdaq with one of the three large
European Stock Exchanges, creating a “24-hour trading platform.”
According to the
Semiconductor Industry Association, the industry should begin to recover in Q4
2001 and continue with slow growth throughout 2002.
The Fed minutes were released, and as it turns
out, the Oct. 2 50 vote was unanimous. For the record, they noted that: “A
mild downturn in overall economic activity is probably now under way.”