Thursday, November 11, 2004

Thursday Close

S&P 500 1,173.48 +.91
NASDAQ 2,061.27 +1.31%


Leading Sectors
Airlines +2.48%
Networking +2.47%
Semis +2.09%

Lagging Sectors
Homebuilders -.20%
Broadcasting -.23%
Oil Service -.44%

Other
Crude Oil 47.47 +.11%
Natural Gas 7.24 +.06%
Gold 434.70 -.16%
Base Metals 116.59 +.09%
U.S. Dollar 84.32 -.13%
10-Yr. T-note Yield 4.25% -.05%
VIX 13.04 -.31%
Put/Call .71 +1.43%
NYSE Arms .93 -13.89%

After-hours Movers
DAL +6.2% after pilots voted to approve a contract that provides $5 billion in concessions in the next five years to help the company avoid a bankruptcy filing.
MSO +4.8% after saying it would name former ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne as its CEO.
BEAS +3.5% after beating 3Q estimates and raising 4Q outlook.

Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on KO.

After-hours News
U.S. stocks finished higher today on optimism over future economic growth. After the close, Verizon Communications may sell as much as $15 billion of real estate to help finance the construction of a fiber-optic network, a Lehman Brothers analyst said in a research note. China began an investigation into possible corruption in the nation's telecommunications industry, the Wall Street Journal reported. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India will reduce its forces in the disputed territory of Kashmir in the coming months, a move welcomed by Pakistan's government, Agence France-Presse reported. Merck CEO Gilmartin is confronting growing pressure to defend his handling of Vioxx, the biggest drug recall ever, after a top Senate fraud fighter demanded he appear at a hearing next week, Bloomberg reported. The United Nations asked for $1.7 billion in humanitarian air for impoverished people in Africa and Asia, including $303 million for the Palestinian territories, Bloomberg reported. Dell said third-quarter profit rose 25%, driven by demand for PCs and printers during the back-to-school season, Bloomberg said. Kohl's, a low-priced department store chain, said third-quarter earnings rose after sales had the biggest gain in five quarters, Bloomberg reported. Pixar Animation Studios said third-quarter profit rose 70% as the company sold more home-video copies of earlier films from its library, Bloomberg said. Micron Technology said a U.S. Justice Dept. investigation found evidence of price fixing by employees, Bloomberg reported.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished substantially higher today, trading at its highs for the year, on strength in my security, internet, wireless and restaurant longs. I did not trade in the afternoon, thus leaving the Portfolio 125% net long. The S&P 500 is now trading at a new high for the year and an imminent assault by the Dow and Nasdaq on their highs appears likely. Considering the Veteran's Day holiday, the tone of the market was very healthy. A positive response to Dell's earnings after the close and a better-than-expected Consumer Confidence reading tomorrow should send U.S. stocks still higher.

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