Show Me The Money
The market traded tentatively in front of key earnings reports today, with
Intel
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PowerRating) heading the list. After a morning rally on better-than-expected December
retail sales report, the indexes pulled back on fears that corporate earnings
may fall short of expectations.
With the Dow up 20% since Sept. 21, the S&P 500
up 18%, the
Nasdaq up almost 40%, and the S&P 500 trading for near 50 times
earnings, traders and investors will be closely eyeing upcoming earnings
reports.
The Dow
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$INDU.X |
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PowerRating)Â gained 32.87 to 9924.29, the Nasdaq
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$COMPQ.X |
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PowerRating) rose 10.03 to 2000.77, and the
S&P
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$SPX.X |
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PowerRating) gained 7.58 to 1145.99.
Airlines [XAL.X||$XAL.X], Oil Services
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$OSX.X |
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PowerRating) and banks [
(
$BIX.X |
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PowerRating)
were the leaders, while Internet
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$DOT.X |
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PowerRating), Forest and Paper
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$FPP.X |
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PowerRating)
and Semiconductors
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$SOX.X |
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PowerRating) were weakest.
Intel is expected to report .11, down from .38 last year. Other names
reporting today are
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PowerRating), consensus .13, Doubleclick
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DCLK |
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PowerRating)
consensus -.05, and Juniper
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JNPR |
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PowerRating), consensus .05.
Airlines were strong following upgrades in the sector. A C.S First Boston
upgrade in United Airlines
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UAL |
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PowerRating) sent the stock up .80 to 14.99. Rival
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AMR |
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PowerRating) was up 1.24 to 25.79.
Sun Microsystems
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PowerRating) fell after Credit Suisse First Boston lowered
2002 estimates.
While reporting a good Q4, Checkpoint Software
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CHKP |
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PowerRating) said it remains
cautious for the first quarter, CHKP fell almost 13% to 38.68, and below its
50-day moving average.
MGM Mirage
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MGG |
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PowerRating) hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer; the stock fell .45
to 28.40.
Alliance Gaming
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ALLY |
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PowerRating) made an all-time high on record revenues earnings
that doubled from last year. ALLY jumped 9% to 31.60.
E-Trade
(
ET |
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PowerRating) quadrupled its profits from a year ago, closing down .50 to
11.70. Rival Charles Schwab
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SCH |
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PowerRating) earned .08 vs. .11 last year. SCH lost a
penny to 16.01.
Although it posted quarterly gains, Tyco International
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TYC |
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PowerRating) fell after
warning its Q2 would fall short. TYC fell 4.35 to 48.05
Lower interest rates helped Wells Fargo
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WFC |
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PowerRating) earn a record profit of .69
in Q4. WFC jumped 2.30 to 45.32, taking out its 200-day moving average. Also in
banking, Fifth Third Bancorp
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PowerRating) gained after posting a 21% earnings
gain. FITB closed at 61.95, up 1.83.