New Home For The QQQs
Stocks were lower on higher
oil, a weaker dollar and mixed economic data.
Q3 GDP was 3.9%, up from an estimated 3.7%. This
is the sixth straight quarter in which GDP has expanded at a rate over 3%. Consumer confidence for November for fell
unexpectedly to 90.5 vs. a 96.0 consensus; it was the fourth consecutive monthly
drop. The Chicago PMI was 65.2 November vs 68.5 in October; it was the 19th
straight month of pickup in business activity.
Retailers had their weakest day since August,
after being up 4.5% in November. Q1 comps will be tough to beat, as last year
was excellent.
November has been the best month of the year for
the indices, with the Russell 2000 +8.8%, the Nasdaq +6.6% and the Mid Cap Index
+5.9%. Some stocks, however, had a bad month, including Merck, -10.5% and
Pfizer, -4.1%.
The components of the Semiconductor Index
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haven’t been changed since June 2003, but on Friday, several changes will be
made. Out goes Motorola
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will be Freescale
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PowerRating). The changes reflect the shift to wireless technology and increasing
Asian production.
The weak dollar has been the topic of
conversation among traders a lot recently, especially the benefits to various
technology companies. Consider this, however: companies that have plants
overseas must pay many expenses in local currencies, which can negatively impact
the bottom line.
According to Thompson Financial, over the past
three months, insider sellers outweighed buyers by a 68:1 ratio. Among the big
sellers are: Bill Gates (MSFT), Larry Ellison (ORCL) and Terry Semel (YHOO).
Buyers include Neville Isdell (KO)Â Henry Luken (CVST) and Charles
Koppelman (MSO).Â
Taser’s
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making it more attractive to retail investors.
Tomorrow, the QQQs begin trading on the Nasdaq.
Symbol: QQQQ.
| Dow | -47.88 | 10428.02 |
| S&P 500 | -4.75 | 1173.82 |
| Nasdaq | -10.06 | 2096.81 |
The dollar was -0.11 at
81.83
Gold was -0.90 to 451
Crude Oil was -0.71 at 49.05
1.84 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was negative.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1386 | Up Vol 558 |
| Declining | 1934 | Down Vol 717 |
| Ratio | 1.39 | 1.28 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1372 | Up Vol 706 |
| Declining | 1761 | Down Vol 939 |
| Ratio | 1.28 | 1.33 |
Stocks in the News.
Google
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improperly issued to employees and consultants.
Hot Topic
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Viisage
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Pakistan’s passport program; 40 million images are projected.
Red Hat
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Allergan
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with authorities after 2 people came down with botulism, possibly from a botox
injection.
Sybase
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software.
Brice Wightman