Spitzer Widens Probe–These Stocks Are Affected
Stocks are mixed after mixed
economic data this morning.
The Consumer Price Index for September rose 0.2%, as
expected, but the Core CPI increased more than expected, up 0.3%, its fastest
pave in five months. Housing starts fell 0.6%, and building permits rose +1.8%.
Ford
(
F |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported 0.28, beating by 0.14. Its strong finance arm offset
losses in autos.
Technology stocks are higher on a good report
from IBM and Texas Instruments yesterday. IBM reported $1.17,
beating by 0.03; revenues were $23.4 billion, in-line. Texas
Instruments
(
TXN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported 0.32 vs. a 0.27 estimate; revenue was $3.25
billion. The Semiconductor book-to-bill ratio fell to .0.96 in September.
Health insurers, however, are lower after the
Hartford Courant reported Cigna
(
CI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Aetna
(
AET |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
have received subpoenas from Eliot Spitzer’s office. The New York Post
reported that Spitzer’s office was widening the insurance probe. United
Health
(
UNH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is down 9%, Humana
(
HUM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is off 8%, and
Anthem
(
ATH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is 8% lower.
Gas and crude oil are down for the 3rd day in a
row.
After the close, Motorola
(
MOT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is due
to report; the estimate is 0.19. Also reporting is Electronic Arts
(
ERTS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating); the estimate
is 0.35.
| Dow | +15.19 | 9972.10 |
| S&P 500 | -2.25 | 1111.75 |
| Nasdaq | +6.68 | 1943.20 |
Strong sectors are: Semis
(
SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+2.79%, Internet
(
GIN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.16%, Computer Tech
(
XCI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.53%.
Weak sectors are:Â Healthcare
Providers
(
HMO.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), -9.35%, Insurance
(
IUX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -2.45% and
Airlines
(
XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -0.96%.
10-year notes are: -040
at 113 035
The dollar is -0.19 at
86.83
Gold is -2.70 at 419.30
Crude Oil is -0.64 at 52.20
833 million on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is positive.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1539 | Up Vol 316 |
| Declining | 1542 | Down Vol 376 |
| Ratio | 1.00 | 1.18 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1444 | Up Vol 504 |
| Declining | 1411 | Down Vol 278 |
| Ratio | 1.02 | 1.81 |
Stocks in the News
Altria Group
(
MO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) posted a higher quarterly profit of 1.29/share.
McDonald’s
(
MCD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported 0.61, in-line.
Boston Scientific
(
BSX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was in-line at 0.47; Q3 sales rose 69%.
Ameritrade
(
AMTD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat by 0.03 but was light on revenues.
Taser
(
TASR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat by 0.04, reporting 0.19, and raised 20004
revenue guidance.
Wells Fargo
(
WFC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) missed by 0.14. Mortgage revenues fell 40%.
Stanley Works
(
SWK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) beat the street and guided higher.
Brice Wightman