Thursday’s Stock Watch
The broader
markets were
mixed, with blue chips making gains and technology selling off.
The Dow and the S&P 500 made accumulation days, and the Nasdaq had a
distribution day. As earnings warnings from companies trickle in to the market,
the Nasdaq remains vulnerable to falling below its upward trend line, while the
Dow and the S&P 500 are just shy of their 200-day MAs. Today money flowed into
financial and health care stocks, and out of technology. From our watch list, we
had some nice accumulations made, and one breakout.
Market breadth was mixed, as the
NYSE was slightly biased to the upside, and the Nasdaq showing signs of
significant selling pressure, with down volume outpacing down volume by over 2:1,
and declining issues leading advancing issues by a 1.28 ratio.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed up
0.72% to
10,070.49. The S&P 500
(
$SPX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
closed up
0.58% to
1,149.58.
The Nasdaq [$COMPQ |$COMPQ] closed down
1.08% to
1,982.89.
| NYSE | NASDAQ | |
| Advancing Issues | 1,531 |
1,606 |
| Declining Issues | 1,644 |
2,061 |
| Advancing Volume |
827,928,000 |
613,732,000 |
| Declining Volume |
601,814,000 |
1,281,440,000 |
| Total Volume | 1,443,467,000 |
1,907,357,000 |
| New 52-week Highs | 31 | 38 |
| New 52-week Lows | 6 | 2 |
Top sectors:
Securities Broker/Dealer
Index
(
$XBD.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 1.88% at 516.20.
NYSE Financial Index
(
$NF.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 1.35% at 591.37.
Losing sectors:
Semiconductor Index
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down
5.19% at 537.61.
CBOE Internet Index
(
$INX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 3.21% at 132.99.
Sectors With New Highs:
Business Services – 8
Drugs – 3
Internet – 4
Medical – 6
Regional Banks – 4
Residential Construction – 3
REITs – 7
Restaurants – 6
Semiconductor – 3
*NOTE: In an effort to make this report easier on the eyes, we have decided to
list new highs in general sectors, as opposed to sub-sectors.
Watch List Action
Krispy Kreme
(
KKD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was our breakout of the day, up 7.25% on over twice
normal volume. This doughnut retailer’s last two quarters of earnings growth were
67% and 57% respectively, with 2002 estimated earnings growth of 57%. The stock
was last at these highs in June of this year. The past month of trading for the
stock has seen six accumulation days, and four distribution days.
Our biggest loser on the day was NVIDIA Corporation
(
NVDA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 2.72%
on low volume, trading in sync with the weak semiconductor index. When our
stocks are down, we like to see it happen on light volume, as it indicates less
conviction for the move.
Recent Breakouts
We monitor the action of Recent Breakouts as an indicator
of the market health for IT traders. When breakouts are acting well, this is a
good sign for the likelihood of further sustainable breakouts. When breakouts
are failing, IT traders should be even more cautious.
American Healthways Inc.
(
AMHC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 0.22% on half
its average volume.
Copart Inc.
(
CPRT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) up 1.04% on average
volume.
Ebay
(
EBAY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) down 0.91% on average volume.
Genesis Microchip
(
GNSS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) up 0.68% on
average volume.
MTR Gaming Group
(
MNTG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 4.84% on
four-times average
volume for an accumulation day.
Nvidia Corp.
(
NVDA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 2.73% on below-average volume.
Panera Bread Co.
(
PNRA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 1.15% on half
its average
volume for a distribution day.
PEC Solutions
(
PECS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) up 3.45% on below-average volume.
THQ Inc.
(
THQI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 1.93% on below-average volume.
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| American Healthways Inc. | ( AMHC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
99 | 36.25 | – 0.08 | 255,500 |
| Copart Inc. | ( CPRT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
93 | 37.76 | + 0.39 | 713,200 |
| Ebay | ( EBAY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
90 | 66.20 | – 0.61 | 8,606,200 |
| Genesis Microchip | ( GNSS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
99 | 69.16 | + 0.47 | 2,621,000 |
| MTR Gaming Group | ( MNTG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
95 | 15.47 | + 0.72 | 352,500 |
| Nvidia Corp. | ( NVDA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
96 | 64.44 | – 1.81 | 9,975,800 |
| Panera Bread Co. | ( PNRA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
94 | 50.30 | – 0.59 | 280,200 |
| PEC Solutions | ( PECS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
99 | 35.95 | + 1.20 | 561,400 |
| THQ Inc. | ( THQI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
94 | 53.34 | + 1.01 | 1,615,200 |
Stocks Forming a Handle
Career Education Corp.
(
CECO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 2.14% on
average volume for a distribution day.
Direct Focus Inc.
(
DFXI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 4.36% on
above-average volume for an accumulation day.
Integra LifeSciences
(
IART |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 0.41% on half average
volume.
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| Career Education Corp. | ( CECO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
92 | 34.20 | – 0.75 | 794,700 |
| Direct Focus Inc. | ( DFXI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
91 | 31.31 | + 1.31 | 655,000 |
| Integra Lifesciences | ( IART | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
90 | 26.46 | – 0.11 | 315,200 |
| Krispy Kreme Doughnuts | ( KKD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
94 | 42.90 | + 2.90 | 839,900 |
Stocks Building A Base
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| None |