The Latest Company To Enter China, Plus Guidance After The Close
Stocks were
mixed Tuesday, drifting in a narrow range. The ISM non-manufacturing index fell to 58.6, as traders pushed
stocks lower at the open as they were concerned of a slower pace of expansion.
U.S. factory orders also fell by 1.4% in November, meeting analysts
expectations.
Computer maker Gateway
(
GTW |
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PowerRating)
warned of lower revenues for the next quarter due to increased competition. The
daily chart of GTW looked pretty good until this morning. Revenue forecasts were
lowered to $880 million. Starbucks reported an 11% increase in same-store
sales and raised full year earnings targets to 84 cents a share as its stock hit
a 52-wk high. Giant retailer Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
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PowerRating) said it would buy back up
to $7 billion of its own stock. This is a $2 billion increase from its original
planned $5 billion buyback. The USDA said there was a “high degree of certainty”
that the Washington State Mad Cow was from Canada. Seven Eleven
(
SE |
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PowerRating)
said it got Chinese approval to build 500 stores in Beijing, with the first
stores opening in the Spring. SE rose 15% to 18.55.
Dow | -5.41 |
10538.66 |
S&P 500 | +1.45 | 1123.67 |
Nasdaq | +10.01 |
2057.37 |
The day’s leading sectors were
Airlines
(
XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +4.14, Networking
(
NWX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +2.29%, Disk Drive
(
DDX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +1.58%,
Hardware
(
GHA.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.68%, and Healthcare [HMO.X|HMO.X]
+0.64%.
Weak today were Amex Gold
Bugs
(
HUI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -2.18%, and Chemicals
(
CEX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -0.89%.
Economic news releases included
Factory orders that dropped 1.4%, and ISM numbers that came in at 58.6.
Volume was
1,494,599,000 on
the NYSE, and 2,255,889,000 on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was positive.
NYSE | Issues | |
Advancing | 1724 | Up Vol 778 |
Declining | 1580 | Down Vol 689 |
Ratio | 1.09 | 1.12 |
Nasdaq | ||
Advancing | 1808 | Up Vol 1414 |
Declining | 1409 | Down Vol 812 |
Ratio | 1.28 | 1.74 |
Stocks in the news:
After the close, Guitar Center
(
GTRC |
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PowerRating)
said it expects to beat Q4 consensus. JDA Software
(
JDAS |
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News |
PowerRating) guided
lower, to $0.00-0.01 vs. $0.10 consensus. Boeing said it delivered 281 airplanes
in 2003, and for the first time in the company’s history, fewer than its
competitor, Airbus, which is expected to announce 300+ planes delivered.
Tweeter Home Entertainment
(
TWTR |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
shed 11% after warning investors it may miss first-quarter earnings. It expects
to earn 18 cents, down from the 22-cent consensus. Same-store sales for the
holidays were lower but overall revenue is up 2%.
The US Army granted Halliburton
(
HAL |
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News |
PowerRating)
the right to continue supplying fuel for its divisions in Iraq, despite Pentagon
audits that found Halliburton responsible for overcharging for fuel. HAL rose
3%.
Sun Microsystems
(
SUNW |
Quote |
Chart |
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PowerRating) won a
multiyear contract with Office Depot
(
OD |
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Chart |
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PowerRating) to sell computer servers and
store equipment. SUNW rose 7% to close at 5.03.
In a move that was highly anticipated by Wall
Street analysts, Yahoo!
(
YHOO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) will stop using Google’s search
technology as it prepares for a larger battle once Google launches its IPO.
bricew@tradingmarkets.com