TradingMarkets Mid-Day Movers

With a continued decrease in commodities
prices generating some early weakness among resource stocks, the major average
all moved lower in early trading on Wednesday after turning in a mixed
performance in the previous session.

The major averages
have come off their worst levels of the morning with the
NASDAQ moving briefly into positive territory. 

Apple Inc.
(
AAPL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is helping lead the NASDAQ this morning, trading up
nearly 5%.  Significant enthusiasm over yesterday’s preview of their new
iPhone continues to draw in buyers.

The price of oil has moved sharply lower
in morning trading on Wednesday, extending a recent downward move. Crude for
February delivery is currently down $1.56 at $54.08 a barrel, pulling back near
the 18-month intraday low that it set in the previous session.

The continued price decrease comes on the
heels of the release of the Energy Department’s report on U.S. crude oil
inventories in the week ended January 5. While the report showed a decrease in
crude oil inventories, it showed notable increases in gasoline and distillate
fuel stockpiles.

From a quick glance at our new
PowerRatings
Heat Maps*,
we are seeing much anticipated strength in the Energy sector, while the
Diversified Services and Transportation sectors are looking weak.

Stocks on the Move

Sears Holdings
(
SHLD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Sales Slip In November, December; Forecasts
FY07 EPS Above Street Expectations (full
story).  SHLD shares rise by 2%.

Alcoa
(
AA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Q4 Profit Jumps 60% (full
story).  AA shares jump by 4%.

US Airways
(
LCC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Lifts Offer For Delta Air Lines To $10.2 Bln (full
story).  LCC shares gain 1.7% through the morning.

Chevron
(
CVX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Says Lower Commodity Prices, Margins And Capacity
Utilization Will Impact Q4 Results (full
story).  CVX shares fall  by 1.7%.

Tiffany
(
TIF |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Holiday Comp. Up 7%, Lifts FY06 EPS Forecast In Line
Or Above Street View; Guides FY07 (full
story).  TIF shares fall by over 2%.

For more stories as they happen, go to our
Breaking News section.

Market Snapshot

Strongest/Weakest Sectors

Economic News

The Energy Department’s report showed that
crude oil inventories fell by 5 million barrels after falling by 1.3 million
barrels in the previous week. At the same time, gasoline inventories rose by 3.8
million barrels, while distillate fuel inventories rose by 5.4 million barrels.

Wholesale Inventories +1.3% vs +0.5% consensus

Trade Balance -$58.2 bln vs -$59.5 bln consensus

Darren Wong
darrenw@tradingmarkets.com

P.S.

Click here to use PowerRatings to identify stocks that could potentially
move higher in the next few days.