Stocks Rally On Mid-East Peace Hopes
Stocks are higher on rumors
that Arafat died,
raising hopes a new leader may promote peace in the
Middle East. The story is unconfirmed and the Palestinian prime minister has e
denied the reports.
Retail sales are in focus today. Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
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PowerRating) said October sales rose 2.8% and also said Q3 earnings would be at the
high end of its forecast. Target
(
TGT |
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PowerRating) same store sales rose 6%.
Pier One
(
PIR |
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PowerRating) said same store sales fell 5.9% and the company cut its
quarterly forecast. Costco’s
(
COST |
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PowerRating) same store sales rose 8% in
October. In October, 57% of retailers beat estimates, 39% missed expectations.
High end retailers continue to outperform; 70% of discounters fell short.
Worker productivity for Q3 rose 1.9%, better than
expected, but the smallest advance since Q4 2002.Â
Pfizer is lower after a report in a
Canadian journal linked arthritis drug Celebrex to 14 deaths. A similar drug–Merck’s
Vioxx–was pulled off the shelf last month after it was linked to heart attacks.
The Canadian government subsequently came out and said there was no causal
link between Celebrex and the 14 deaths.
Bank of America lowered Applied Materials
(
AMAT |
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PowerRating) and KLA-Tencor
(
KLAC |
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PowerRating) to a sell.
Jobless claims for the week of 10/30 fell 19,000,
more than forecast, to 332,000; the 4-week moving average of fell 1500 to
342,000.
| Dow | +79.86 | 10216.91 |
| S&P 500 | +8.51 | 1151.71 |
| Nasdaq | +5.56 | 2009.89 |
Strong sectors are: GoldÂ
(
XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+2.87%, Airlines
(
XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.33%,
Healthcare Providers
(
HMO.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.33%.
Weak sectors are:Â Biotech
(
BTK.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-3.59%, Pharmaceuticals
(
DRG.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -0.46%.
The dollar is -0.25 at
84.45
Gold is +3.10 at 430.30
Crude Oil is -0.48 at 50.40
890 million on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is positive.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 2045 | Up Vol 462 |
| Declining | 1043 | Down Vol 227 |
| Ratio | 1.96 | 2.03 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1225 | Up Vol 361 |
| Declining | 1660 | Down Vol 452 |
| Ratio | 1.35 | 1.25 |
Stocks in the News
MCI
(
MCIP |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) posted a $3.4 billion loss; revenue was $5.08 billion, down
15% from a year ago.
Qualcomm
(
QCOM |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) guided lower. The company will report after the bell.
Electronic Data Systems
(
EDS |
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PowerRating) will delay its Q3 earnings report.
Hot Topic
(
HOTT |
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Chart |
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PowerRating) cut its Q3 profit outlook, now seeing 0.27.
Brice Wightman