S&P 500 1,155.97 +.96%
NASDAQ 2,057.80 +1.38%
Leading Sectors
Homebuilders +3.92%
Iron/Steel +3.79%
Gaming +3.38%
Lagging Sectors
Insurance +.27%
Transports -.29%
Hospitals -1.58%
Other
Crude Oil 36.80 -.16%
Natural Gas 5.56 +.36%
Gold 400.00 +.10%
Base Metals 115.37 +2.05%
U.S. Dollar 87.51 +.23%
10-Yr. Long-Bond Yield 3.98% +.34%
VIX 14.44 -.76%
Put/Call .74 +2.78%
NYSE Arms .69 -48.12%
After-hours Movers
MAMA +25.7% after reporting strong 4Q on 127% sales gain.
MVSN -5.87% after meeting 4Q estimates, but lowering 1Q outlook.
Recommendations
Goldman Sachs is reiterating their Outperform rating for KO and CCE. Goldman expects hospitals to remain under pressure from UHS news. GS also says that certain parts of tech have attractive entry points now. They highlighted the systems software, storage and semi sub-sectors and INTC, EMC and MSFT stocks. TheStreet.com is recommending a short on Inco(N). Cramer says that the analyst from JP Morgan that downgraded INTC and AMD has a very bad track record. He also says he isn't buying the dip in hospitals, as their trouble will continue throughout the year. TheSteet.com is also positive on NUTR.
After-hours News
U.S. stocks rose broadly, as a gauge of manufacturing employment surged to its highest reading in more than 16 years, leading to speculation that Friday's employment report would meet expectations. As well, the ISM Manufacturing Index held steady near a 2-decade high. All 20 manufacturing industries reported growth. Homebuilders again led the way, with help from the Gaming and Commodity sectors. Tech lagged early in the day, only to strengthen significantly by the close. Hospitals were the only negative standout as earnings concerns weighed on the group. Crude Oil futures rose to the highest price in almost a year on concerns gasoline supplies won't increase fast enough to meet peak demand during the summer driving season. The intl. force sent to Haiti should reach 5,000 troops soon.
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio had a very good day today. I took profits in a few of my consumer cyclical positions and added some beaten-up tech on the close, leaving the Portfolio 110% net long. One of the new additions to the Portfolio is SEAC, a leader in Video-on-demand servers and software. I am using a $17.50 stop. The most positive aspect to today's trading was the fact that we had such a strong manufacturing number, with good evidence of an improving jobs market, yet interest rates barely moved. Interest rates are the key to whether this is just a good year or a VERY good year for the U.S. equity markets.
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