You Know ‘Murphy’s Law.’ But Did You Know ‘Moore’s Law?’
Stocks were lower on light volume
as many New York traders are taking the week off.
Consumer spending bounced back in July — up
0.8% — after a revised 0.2% drop in June.
It was the lightest volume in the Nasdaq in a
year. In 2003, there were only 5 days with fewer than a billion shares on the
Nasdaq and these were just before holidays. The average daily volume on the
Nasdaq for 2004 is 1.85 billion in 2004; last year it was 1.69 billion.
Tyson
(
TSN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lowered 2004 guidance, citing
higher costs and weaker chicken demand. The company said it made the wrong bet
on the direction of grain prices. Last week, competitor Sanderson Farms
(
SAFM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
warned.
Intel
(
INTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) will manufacture a chip
with more than a half billion transistors. The company will use its 65-nanometer
technology, which leaves AMD’s 90-nanometer technology a generation behind. In
the 1960’s, founder Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors on a
chip would double about every two years. This latest announcement from Intel
shows that “Moore’s Law” is still valid. Look for Intel’s mid-quarter update on
Thursday
Crude dipped below $42 for the first time in 4 weeks, closing at 42.22.
Before the open tomorrow, look for earnings from
the following companies (estimate follows in parentheses): EASI (0.75), FCEL
(-0.40), ZLC (0.13).
| Dow | -71.45 | 10123.56 |
| S&P 500 | -8.54 | 1099.23 |
| Nasdaq | -25.60 | 1836.49 |
Strong today were: Airlines
(
XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.38%, Utilities
(
UTY.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.14%.
Weak were: Biotech
(
BTK.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -3.04%, Internet
(
GIN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -2.07%, Semis
(
XBD.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-2.27%, Brokers
(
XBD.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -1.54%.
10-year Notes were +070 at 113 005
The dollar
was -0.09 at 89.65
Gold was +4.20 at 407.40
Crude Oil was -0.96 at
42.22
Volume was 841 million
on the NYSE and 976 million on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was negative.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1301 | Up Vol 174 |
| Declining | 1974 | Down Vol 600 |
| Ratio | 1.51 | 3.44 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 967 | Up Vol 120 |
| Declining | 2103 | Down Vol 816 |
| Ratio | 2.17 | 6.80 |
Stocks in the News
Accredo Health
(
ACDO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) slashed its 2004
forecast.
Wal Mart
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) may buy UK retailer
Matalan for $1.8 billion.
An FDA committee put off a vote on Eyetech’s
(
EYET |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Macugen. The FDA did make some positive comments, however. The stock
was halted most of the day Friday. The stock fell 9%.
QLT [
(
QLTI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), a competitor of Eyetech,
fell almost 9%.
In Barron’s this weekend: American Science &
Engineering
(
ASE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), which was thought to de well in an anti-terror
envoronment; Drexler Technology
(
DRXR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), OSI Systems
(
OSIS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
(x-ray screening), and Vical
(
VICL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) (anthrax vaccine), Dentsply
(
XRAY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) (baby boomers need more dental care), Lojack
(
LOJN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) (unit sales
+16% in 2004).
Brice Wightman