The Fed Meets Tomorrow. Here’s What To Expect
Stocks were higher on a good sales number and Wall
Street approval of a big merger. The Dow closed at its high and the
S&P made a 3-year closing high.
Retail sales for November rose +0.1%, better than expected; +0.5% ex
auto.
Peoplesoft
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PowerRating) accepted Oracle’s sweetened $10.3
billion bid ($26.50/share). The deal is expected to be completed early January.
Sprint is in talks to buy Nextel for $26 billion.
The Wall Street Journal said an announcement could come as
early as Wednesday. The New York Times reported that Verizon
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and Vodafone
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Twenty-one IPOs are coming to market this week–the largest number highest since
since September 2000. Of note: Blue Linx (BXC) will offer 9.5 million
shares between $15-$17; the company is the largest distributor of building
products in the US. Las
Vegas Sands, expected to offer 23.8 million shares at $24-$26, up from the
original $20-$22. Proposed
symbol: LVS.
The Fed meets tomorrow and is widely expected to raise rates by 1/4 point.
Remember: options and futures expire on Friday.
Strong sectors were: Natural Gas
(
XNG.X |
Quote |
Chart |
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PowerRating) +2.04%, Healthcare Providers
(
HMO.X |
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PowerRating) +1.88%, Oil
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PowerRating)
+1.71%.
Dow | +95.10 | 10,638.32 |
S&P 500 | +10.68 | 1,198.6 |
Nasdaq | +20.43 | 2,148.50 |
The dollar was -0.43 at
82.18
Gold was +3.20 to 438.60
Crude Oil was +0.45 at 41.16
ce=”Arial” size=”2″ face=”Arial”>Volume was 1.4 billion on the NYSE and 2 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was positive.
NYSE | Issues | |
Advancing | 2222 | Up Vol 948 |
Declining | 1088 | Down Vol 331 |
Ratio | 1.34 | 1.89 |
Nasdaq |
||
Advancing | 1937 | Up Vol 1420 |
Declining | 1208 | Down Vol 481 |
Ratio | 1.02 | 2.15 |
Stocks in the News
Conextant
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PowerRating) guided lower but is now trading up over 3%.
Taser
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PowerRating) said an independent investigation found that its
technology reduced deadly force litigation and caused fewer injuries.
IMAX
(
IMAX |
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PowerRating) guided higher.
JP Morgan upgraded the video game group, which includes ERTS, THQI and TTWO.
Brice Wightman