Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Tuesday Close

S&P 500 1,175.43 -.71%
NASDAQ 2,078.62 -.74%


Leading Sectors
Oil Service +.59%
Broadcasting +.33%
Utilities +.02%

Lagging Sectors
Retailers -1.72%
Homebuilders -1.94%
Airlines -2.31%

Other
Crude Oil 46.15 +.09%
Natural Gas 7.12 -.06%
Gold 439.80 -.16%
Base Metals 117.13 -.76%
U.S. Dollar 83.84 +.05%
10-Yr. T-note Yield 4.21% unch.
VIX 13.21 -1.27%
Put/Call .69 +27.78%
NYSE Arms 1.69 +57.94%

After-hours Movers
NTAP +10.3% after beating 2Q estimates and raising 3Q outlook.
HPQ +7.8% after beating 4Q estimates and raising 1Q/2Q 05 guidance.
VNUS +4.8% after meeting 3Q estimates and raising 4Q outlook.

Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on HD.

After-hours News
U.S. stocks finished modestly lower today on profit-taking and inflation worries. After the close, Walt Disney is preparing to begin work on a sequel to Pixar Animation Studios' "Toy Story", a move that may make it difficult for Disney to resume negotiations to extend Pixar's distribution agreement, the Hollywood Reporter said. European government bonds offer the best prospects for returns because the region's economy is slowing and inflation is slower than in the U.S., PIMCO's Mark Keisel told CNBC. President Bush phoned Sudan's president and its rebel leader today, asking them to halt two decades of civil war and urging an end to attacks on Africans by government-backed Arab militias, Bloomberg reported. Ohio will recount ballots cast in the Nov. presidential election next month after the Green and Libertarian parties raised more than the $113,600 required to fund the process, the AP reported. The Association of Flight Attendants representing workers at United Airlines, US Airways Group and 24 other carriers, plans to call for a nationwide strike if any airline uses bankruptcy to scrap a contract with attendants, Bloomberg said. Hewlett-Packard said fourth-quarter profit rose 27%, beating analyst estimates, as sales of servers and storage devices rebounded, Bloomberg said. India will start reducing its military contingent in the disputed territory of Kashmir starting today to coincide with a visit to the region by Prime Minister Singh, Agence France-Presse reported. A taped promotion showing a naked actress from ABC's "Desperate Housewives" embracing Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens was "inappropriate and unsuitable" for "Monday Night Football's" audience, the NFL said. Network Appliance said second-quarter net income rose 14% and sales jumped, Bloomberg reported. Crude oil futures fell near a two-month low amid speculation a report will show U.S. oil and fuel inventories rose last week, easing concern about lean supplies during the winter, Bloomberg reported.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished lower today on weakness in my internet, retail and Chinese ADR longs. I exited some long positions in the afternoon as they hit stop-losses, thus leaving the Portfolio 100% net long. Today's mild declines were mainly a result of profit-taking as the action in the bond market suggested investors believe the current elevated inflation readings to be temporary. A few days of declines and consolidation would help eliminate some of the complacency that has built over the last several weeks. However, HPQ and NTAP are responding quite favorably to their earnings' reports after the close.

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