S&P 500 1,140.60 +.06%
NASDAQ 2,049.77 +.83%
Leading Sectors
Iron/Steel +4.13%
Internet +3.90%
Papers +3.88%
Lagging Sectors
Semis +.36%
Fashion -.03%
Disk Drives -.80%
Other
Crude Oil 36.46 -.68%
Natural Gas 5.57 -.92%
Gold 395.70 +.46%
Base Metals 107.35 +.14%
U.S. Dollar 91.08 +.29%
10-Yr. Long-Bond Yield 4.45% +1.67%
VIX 14.01 -4.11%
Put/Call .67 +6.35%
NYSE Arms .80 +9.59%
After-hours Movers
None of note.
Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on SAP, IGT, KO, CCE, PEP, SUN, BAX, GDT, PHCC, CSCO and MSFT. GS reiterated Underperform on CYT and POT.
After-hours News
U.S. stocks finished higher Friday as strong corporate earnings and economic reports outweighed rising interest rates. After the close, Bloomberg reported that with more than half of the S&P 500 having reported quarterly results, 78% have exceeded expectations and only 11% have missed estimates. The average earnings increase so far is 26% versus estimates of 13% when the period began, Thomson Financial reported. Fannie Mae recently added Ernst & Young to a list of consultants advising it over its accounting practices, even though the SEC barred the firm from taking on new clients, Dow Jones reported. President Bush cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Sharon against harming Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat after the Israeli leader said he was no longer bound by a promise to spare Arafat from attack, the AP reported. With the U.S. lifting most economic sanctions on Libya in exchange for Qaddafi's agreement to give up weapons of mass destruction, Libyan businesses and government officials are expecting a boom. Africa's biggest holder of known oil reserves can now bring in U.S. companies to modernize its equipment and explore for new deposits. Libya's oil industry is pumping half as much oil as it did 35 years ago when Qaddafi took power. The country holds at least 36 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, worth more than $1 trillion at current prices. Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum and Amerada Hess are all interested in returning to Libya, Bloomberg reported. Chinese President Hu Jintao vowed controls to keep the economy on a steady footing, amid overheating in some industries that has led to shortages of oil, coal, power and choked the transportation system, Bloomberg reported.
Bottom LINE: The Portfolio was unchanged today as more U.S. stocks declined than advanced, notwithstanding the performance of the major indices. I did not trade in the afternoon and the Portfolio is still 125% net long. Taking into account yesterday's large gains and today's interest rate/Iraq fears, I thought the major indices performed pretty well today. I would like to see a follow-through gap up on good volume in the near future to confirm yesterday's move.
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