Mid-day Update

S&P 500 1,120.17 -.09%
NASDAQ 1,982.88 -.40%

Leading Sectors
Fashion +1.08%
Telecom +.68%
Hospitals +.65%

Lagging Sectors
Oil Service -1.16%
Iron/Steel -1.36%
Semis -2.38%

Other
Crude Oil 41.57 -1.84%
Natural Gas 6.63 -.76%
Gold 392.50 -.66%
Base Metals 110.69 +.24%
U.S. Dollar 88.69 -.21%
10-Yr. T-note Yield 4.70% +.08%
VIX 16.44 +.80%
Put/Call .80 -15.79%
NYSE Arms 1.37 +23.42%

Market Movers
SOHU +5.7% on a continued rebound in Chinese internet stocks.
XLNX -4.57% on profit-taking after raising 2Q forecast.
BGG +6.93% after acquiring Simplicity Manufacturing for $277.5M, purchase will boost 05 earnings .35-.40/share.
RECN +6.98% on optimism over U.S. job growth.
FCS -9.49% after reiterating 2Q forecast, but warning "backlog volatility" could be a problem.

Economic Data
None of note.

Recommendations
NVDA raised to Buy at UBS, target $28. MEDI raised to Overweight, target $32. BIIB raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley, target $77. PCAR rated Outperform at CSFB, target $77. OSI raised to Overweight at Prudential, target $49. Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on TIF, IR, BSX, AMGN, HD, DNA and PG. Goldman remains cautious on brokerage stocks ahead of quarterly reports. Citi SmithBarney reiterated Buy on DPMI, target $30. Citi reiterated Sell on BRKS, target $17. TER reiterated Sell at Citi, target $20. Citi reiterated Buy on LRCX, target $35. Citi reiterated Buy on WFR, target $14. Citi reiterated Buy on INTC, target $33. Citi reiterated positive view on lodging sector, reiterated Buy ratings on HOT, HLT and MAR, top pick is MAR. Citi said average wait time at PFCB up 41% year-over-year.

Mid-day News
U.S. stocks are mixed mid-day as falling oil prices cannot offset weakness in technology shares. New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon and financial supporters have approached Time Warner about forming a new sports network in the New York area, the New York Post reported. Recently released price measures have made Alfred Broaddus, the retiring president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, "even more comfortable" about the outlook for inflation, Market News International reported. Pfizer CEO McKinnell told CNBC that the U.S. labor market is the best in over 3 years, as 38% of chief executives surveyed by the Business Roundtable expect to add employees in the next six months. As well, the survey found that 44% of CEOs plan to raise capital spending, Bloomberg reported. Goldman Sachs hired three companies, including Standard & Poor's, to provide its clients with independent research as part of the bank's settlement with U.S. regulators about biased stock advice, Bloomberg said. OPEC should pump oil at will in the next few months, Qatar's energy minister said as the group's president called for efforts to cause a "significant" drop in oil prices, Bloomberg said. General Motors is offering rebates of as much as $5,000 on most 04 models to customers who have bought the company's vehicles before, Bloomberg reported. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline, accusing it of hiding negative information about the effects of its anti-depression drug Paxil when prescribed for children, Bloomberg said. Saudi Arabia will consolidate all its charities into one entity in an effort to put a stop to the funding of terrorism, Bloomberg reported.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is down slightly today on weakness in a few of my internet and telecom equipment longs that are pulling back after recent gains. I have not traded today and the Portfolio is still 125% net long. There in trader nervousness ahead of Bush's trip to Rome, Friday's jobs report and tomorrow's OPEC meeting. I expect U.S. stocks to remain neutral to higher through this afternoon's close.