Oil In Focus Today — Here’s Why

Stocks are mixed Monday.
Warnings from Colgate and Unilever, and a Citigroup
downgrade, sent the Dow lower, while a rally in the semis has the Nasdaq in the
green. The SOX reclaimed the 400 level and is also trading above its 50-day
moving average.

Colgate
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warned for the second half, citing higher marketing
expenses. It was the first warning by Colgate in almost a decade; CL shares hit
a 4-year low. Citigroup
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was lowered to neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Of the 90 S&P companies that warned this quarter,
30 cited the recent hurricanes as a factor. Estimates for the damage are as high
as $20 billion, much of it in Florida. The construction industry could benefit
through rebuilding the damage. Nobility Homes
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builds
manufactured homes in Florida.

Yukos said it will suspend all deliveries to
China; deliveries to China are more expensive and Yukos faces a cash-crunch
situation. The news sent oil over $46.

The Fed meets tomorrow; a 1/4 point increase is
expected.

Dow -74.70 10209.10
S&P 500 -6.30 1122.25
Nasdaq -5.18 1904.91

Strong today are: Semis
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+2.94%, Computer Technology
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0.68%, Oil
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+0.46%.

Weak are: Consumer
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-1.48%,  Brokers
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-0.89%, Telecom
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-0.80%.

10-year Notes are +110 at 113 010

The dollar
is +0.14 at 89.05

Gold is -0.50 at 404.70

Crude Oil is +0.43 at 46.02

Volume is 542 million on
the NYSE and 817 million on the Nasdaq.

Market breadth is negative.

NYSE Issues
Advancing 1388 Up Vol 247
Declining 1687 Down Vol 264
Ratio 1.21 1.06
Nasdaq
Advancing 1329 Up Vol 516
Declining 1611 Down Vol 276
Ratio 1.21 1.86

Stocks in the News

Hewlett Packard
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bought back $1.3 billion in shares from Merrill
Lynch and the board approved an additional # billion buyback.

Unilever
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warned, citing bad weather.

Lennar
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beat by 0.02 and raised guidance.

OSI Pharmacueticals
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said Phase III trials of Tarceva met
its primary endpoint of improving survival.

MCI
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may be looking for potential buyers, according to
The New York Times.

Nike
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beat by 0.10; first quarter profits rose 25%.

Adobe Systems
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will report after the bell; the estimate is
0.39.

PMC Sierra
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lowered its Q3 outlook.

Carmax
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beat by a penny and guided Q3 lower.

Maxim Pharmaceutical’s
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cancer drug Ceplene failed a trial.

Brice Wightman