Next Level Of Support…
After opening higher Monday, the
markets went south to trade lower throughout the session.
The Nasdaq Composite flirted with the
psychological level of 2000 throughout the afternoon session, only to succumb to
pressure as the index closed below that level, losing 2.0%.
The Dow Jones Industrials slid 1.4% as the markets closed lower.
The Dow’s next support level is around
the 10120 level and the Nasdaq 100 is nearing the 1600 support level. The
S&P 500’s next level of support is near the 1160 range. Analysts feel these
levels will offer buying opportunities for traders.
Breadth for the day was down as the
markets were once again impacted by earnings reports. Most sectors
ended in the red.
Footwear maker Sketchers
(
SKX |
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PowerRating) rose
4.0% after the company reaffirmed Q2 sales and said that earnings would be in line with
analysts’ expectations. Based on a survey taken by Thomson Financial/First Call,
earnings should be in a range of 41 to 46 cents a share, with an average of 44
cents.
Netegrity
(
NETE |
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after the company announced a new product strategy for web services.
Elan Corporation
(
ELN |
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after the pharmaceutical company, in conjunction with American Home Products
(
AHP |
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reported that the two companies would be launching Phase II trials on an
experimental vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease.
PMI Group
(
PMI |
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Cadence Design Systems
(
CDN |
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gained 2.9% after the company’s subsidiary Tality Corp announced that Tality
will offer free Bluetooth qualification services.
Only two sectors ended in the green today.
The
Oil Services Index
(
$OSX.X |
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(
$MXY.X |
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edged higher by 0.2%.
Stocks trading lower in the session
were AT&T
(
T |
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PowerRating) which slid 4.0% as the company reported earnings of 4 cents a
share, beating analysts’ estimates by a penny.
Amazon.com
(
AMZN |
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PowerRating) fell 5.18% as
the company is due to report earnings after the close.
Lexmark
(
LXK |
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after the company warned that it expects lower demand of its products
which would put Q3 earnings below analysts’ estimates.
Software maker Sungard Data Systems
(
SDS |
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PowerRating)
slid 8.2% even after the company reported earnings which were in line with
analysts’ expectations. Sungard reported earnings of 23 cents a share and
operating profits which rose 23% for Q2.
Gateway Computers
(
GTW |
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lower 8.6%.
Polymedica
(
PLMD |
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hammered 29.5%. The drug company announced that it will be reporting earnings
for Q1 that will beat previous estimates. Polymedica said earnings will come in
at 65 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call were
expecting 63 cents for the quarter.
Right Management Consultants
(
RMCI |
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reported Q2 earnings rose 145%. Earnings came in at 53 cents a share compared to
24 cents for the same quarter one year ago. The stock slid 29.7%.
Software maker Caminus
(
CAMZ |
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shares fell 15.2%.
Indexes losing Monday were the
Pharmaceutical Index
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$DRG.X |
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$CEX.X |
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slid 2.3%. The Semiconductor Index
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$SOX.X |
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closed lower 2.8%.