S&P 500 1,139.32 -.11%
NASDAQ 2,052.88 +.13%
Leading Sectors
Internet +1.85%
Energy +1.09%
Semis +.90%
Lagging Sectors
Airlines -1.14%
Homebuilders -1.62%
Retail -2.18%
Other
Crude Oil 37.14 +2.74%
Natural Gas 5.94 +1.18%
Gold 420.70 -.71%
Base Metals 111.52 -.91%
U.S. Dollar 89.05 +.03%
10-Yr. Long-Bond Yield 4.19% unch.
VIX 16.26 +3.17%
Put/Call .71 +1.43%
NYSE Arms .83 -55.14%
After-hours Movers
SCSS +4.84% after boosting 1Q sales and earnings forecast.
CGPI +22.64% after announcing that it settled a patent infringement case against Mutual Pharmaceutical Co.
Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on ACN, MUR and SBC. GS reiterated Underperform on ATI. NPSP may be acquired by a larger rival that's attracted to the drugmaker's line of products, Business Week reported. MWD trades substantially below other brokerages at a time when its profits show "meaningful improvement," Business Week said.
After-hours News
U.S. stocks were mixed Thursday ahead of the three-day weekend, as geopolitical concerns offset strong earnings reports from several bell-weather U.S. companies. After the close, FedEx CEO Fred Smith told CNBC the economy is recovering and concerns about Iraq aren't hurting business. The NASD launched an industry-wide investigation into fee-based brokerage accounts, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The U.S. Senate passed legislation that lets companies struggling with stock-market losses contribute $80B less to their pension plans, sending the bill to President Bush for his signature. Reliant Resources, two employees and two former employees were indicted on criminal charges for shutting down power plants during the California energy crisis in 2000 to drive up electricity prices.
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished slightly higher on the day as my technology longs rose and homebuilding shorts fell. I added a few new long positions into the afternoon weakness, bringing the Portfolio's market exposure back to 75% net long. I think terrorism/war fears and traders early exits for the weekend resulted in an artificially weak day. I expect Monday will be better for the bulls, barring any new terrorist acts or a worsening of the situation in Iraq.
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