When This One Fights Back, Watch Out
When Qualcomm
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attention. The cell phone gear and licensing firm is, after all, the third
most heavily weighted stock on the big-cap tech Nasdaq 100 Index
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behind Microsoft
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for nearly 5% of the movement of the NDX and its movement, in turn,
influences many key tech shares.
Qualcomm is coming back after missing earnings and
announcing a $44.5 million loss, treading on positive turf after the gap-down
opening, up .65 at 53.88.
The market — especially technology — has been able
to rally despite a barrage of negative economic reports and patchy corporate
news. Fighting back on dreary news is one of the strongest things an
individual stock and the market can do. Technically, Qualcomm is tracing an
outside bar out of the handle of a still-incomplete base. The volume and
expansion bar occurring below its 57.00 pivot is constructive but its short
base is a weakness.
Qualcomm’s surge off the lows and intraday explosion
into positive territory is sending the Nasdaq 100 and the Nasdaq Composite for
their sixth consecutive gains.
The Nasdaq Composite is up 31.19 at 1554.44, the
S&P 500 is up 6.13 at 1124.99, and the Dow is up 41 at 9632.
The Fed cut its fed funds target interest rate for
the 10th time this year to 2%, a 40-year low. Financials generally do better
when the Fed cuts rates because they can reap a better gain on the spread
between what they can borrow for and lend at and also due to an increase in
lending business. Financials JP Morgan Chase
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The market is also digesting news that productivity
increased last month as those workers not recently fired churned out more
product per hour worked. Higher productivity is a key factor in keeping
inflation at bay and in raising living standards.
Internets
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broker/dealers
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are the strongest sectors. Insurance
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-1.19%, are the lagging areas of the market.