Markets On Fire–Here’s Why
Stocks are higher in what will
be the best week the bulls have had all year.
The S&P is making 2 1/2 year highs and most stocks
are up 2-3% this week. Historic highs are being made in many areas, including
smallcaps, midcaps, retail and materials. Traders are focused on an excellent
jobs number, as well as revisions in the August and September numbers, lower oil
and a tax-friendly environment under President Bush.
Nonfarm payrolls for October rose +337,000, well
ahead of estimates and the strongest gains in seven months. The biggest gains
were in construction (+71,000) and the service sector (+97,000). Unemployment
for October was 5.5% vs 5.4% in September Nonfarm payrolls for August were
revised to 198K v 128K. Average hourly earnings rose +0.3%.
Vornado took at 4.3% stake in Sears
(
S |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
which is trading up 25%.
The British medical journal Lancet said that Merck’s
(
MRK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Vioxx risks were known in early 2000. CEO Gilmartin is under pressure to step
down, The Wall Street Journal reports.
| Dow | +68.73 | 10383.19 |
| S&P 500 | +3.49 | 1165.17 |
| Nasdaq | +10.45 | 2034.08 |
Strong sectors are: Gold
(
XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+2.29%, Airlines
(
XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.77%, Cyclicals
(
CYC.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.08%
Weak sectors are:Â Internet
(
GIN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -0.81%, Utilities
(
UTY.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -0.56%.
The dollar is -0.47 at
84.07
Gold is +3.20 at 433.10
Crude Oil is -0.12 at 48.70
1.32 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is positive.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1648 | Up Vol 721 |
| Declining | 1707 | Down Vol 410 |
| Ratio | 1.03 | 1.75 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1648 | Up Vol 824 |
| Declining | 1361 | Down Vol 400 |
| Ratio | 1.21 | 2.06 |
Stocks in the News
MCI
(
MCIP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) posted a $3.4 billion loss; revenue was $5.08 billion, down
15% from a year ago.
Qualcomm
(
QCOM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) guided lower. The company will report after the bell.
Electronic Data Systems
(
EDS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) will delay its Q3 earnings report.
Hot Topic
(
HOTT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) cut its Q3 profit outlook, now seeing 0.27.
Brice Wightman