Will CSCO Ignite The Markets?
Stocks opened lower Friday even on a stronger-than-expected Unemployment Report.
The broader market indexes closed
lower with the Dow Jones Industrials losing fractionally 0.3%
and the Nasdaq Composite shedding 1.0%.
Breadth for the day was negative, with NYSE
advancers lagging decliners 1426 to 1610. As for
the Nasdaq Composite, decliners beat advancers 1760to 1400.
The VIX closed down 3.8% with no new
timing signals triggering.
Heads up — Cisco Systems
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scheduled to report earnings on Tuesday. Will CSCO’s conference call be
able to propel the markets higher? Traders appeared to think so as CSCO has outperformed
the Nasdaq Composite this week.
In the mean time, I would like to point
out the steep decline in the CRB Index combined with the decrease in velocity of
the M2 money supply
(which shows money is not changing hands), indicating that there is some
potential slowing in business due to
deflationary pressure.
Sectors eking out gains in the session
were the Mexico Index
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Silver Index
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The Biotechnology Index
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made a turnaround late in the day, gaining 0.8%.
Sectors losing ground today were the
Semiconductor Index
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average. The index closed lower 2.3%
The GSTI Internet Index
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slipped 1.2% and the Oil Services Index
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Security systems maker Sensormatic
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scooted higher 54.7% after Tyco International
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acquire the company for $2.18 billion.
Sunglass maker Oakley
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being massacred in the trading session yesterday, gained 19.4%.
Checkpoint Systems
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7.4%.
Aftermarket Technology
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gapped up and gained 19.6% after the company said that it expects Q3 earnings to
be 38 cents a share up from earlier guidance of 35 cents.
Biotechnology company XOMA Ltd
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tacked on 14.5% after the company announced its drug for treating psoriasis has
shown some promising results in clinical testing.
Ulticom
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9.1%.
Stocks falling victim to some profit-taking on Wall Street were Genesco
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6.3% in the session; Tycom Ltd
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closed down 5.0%; and drug stock Noven Pharmaceuticals
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PowerRating), whose shares got hammered in the session, losing 43.0% after warning that the company
would not meet analyst’s expectations for 2001.