Wednesday Close

S&P 500 1,143.20 +1.12%
NASDAQ 2,004.33 +.98%

Leading Sectors
HMOs +5.55%
Biotech +3.35%
Defense +3.17%

Lagging Sectors
Semis -1.0%
Broadcasting -1.04%
Airlines -1.48%

Other
Crude Oil 50.91 +.06%
Natural Gas 8.82 +.78%
Gold 427.70 +.54%
Base Metals 114.83 -1.10%
U.S. Dollar 84.70 -.90%
10-Yr. T-note Yield 4.07% +.67%
VIX 14.04 -13.23%
Put/Call .87 +16.0%
NYSE Arms .73 -35.96%

After-hours Movers
PENN +12.2% after agreeing to purchase Argosy Gaming for $1.4 billion in cash to create the third-largest U.S. operator of gambling properties. ARGY +12.3%.
TALK +14.9% after beating 3Q estimates and raising 4Q guidance substantially.
QCOM -4.94% after meeting 4Q estimates and lowering 05 outlook.
DITC -30.5% after lowering 2Q/3Q guidance.
DIGE -24.8% after missing 1Q estimates and lowering 2Q/05 outlooks.
ADRX -19.3% after missing 3Q estimates.
BOBJ -16.7% after meeting 3Q estimates and lowering 4Q outlook.
AUDC -8.6% after saying it intends to offer $100 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Convertible Notes due 2024.

Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on NFX and PG.

After-hours News
U.S. stocks finished higher today on optimism over President Bush's victory, improving sentiment, better economic reports and short-covering. After the close, the California Public Employees' Retirement System asked chief executive officers of Fortune 100 companies to disclose whether they have any financial stake in businesses that provide service to their companies, CNBC said. President Bush's re-election may force French and German leaders who opposed the war in Iraq to try to patch up strained relations with the U.S., officials and scholars from Stockholm to Berlins said. California voters overturned a law that would have required businesses to pay for their workers' health insurance, a victory for retailers and restaurateurs such as Wal-Mart Stores and McDonald's, Bloomberg reported. News Corp. said fiscal first-quarter profit rose 27%, in part because advertising sales increases at its cable-tv networks such as Fox News Channel, Bloomberg said. Electronic Data Systems postponed the release of third-quarter results a second time as it reviews the value of assets related to a money-losing U.S. Navy contract, Bloomberg reported. Shares of W.R. Grace, USG Corp. and other companies facing claims for asbestos-related injuries surged on optimism that Republican victories in U.S. elections improved prospects for creation of a fund to end the lawsuits, Bloomberg said. Toyota, Honda and Nissan, Japan's biggest automakers, led U.S. sales gains in October and propelled Asia-based brands to a market share record on demand for their newest cars and light trucks, Bloomberg reported. Shares of Diebold, whose electronic-voting machines were criticized as vulnerable to hacking and breakdowns, rose after computerized ballots showed few signs of trouble in yesterday's U.S. presidential election, Bloomberg said. U.S. service industries expanded in October at the fastest pace in three months and more companies said they were hiring, evidence the economy is strengthening, Bloomberg reported. Qualcomm said fourth-quarter net income rose amid growing demand for handsets that play games, music and deliver e-mail, Bloomberg said. General Electric's NBC last night drew more viewers with its coverage of the U.S. presidential election than other broadcast networks. On cable tv, Fox News Channel drew a substantially bigger audience than CNN, Bloomberg reported. Constellation Brands will acquire Robert Mondavi for a sweetened offer of $1.03 billion in cash, ending any plans to keep the company in the Mondavi family, Bloomberg said. Palestinian leader Arafat was taken to an intensive care unit at the hospital in Paris where he is undergoing treatment, Agence France-Presse reported. Hamid Karzai's victory in Afghanistan's first direct presidential election is a "milestone" toward democracy in the country, the U.S. State Department said.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished higher today on strength in my healthcare, biotech and internet longs. I took profits in a few wireless longs in the afternoon and added some Indian ADR longs, leaving the Portfolio with 125% net long market exposure. One of my new longs is WIT and I am using a $20.95 stop-loss on this position. The tone of the market was good today as most stocks rose and volume increased. Technology stocks underperformed as investors rotated into healthcare-related companies on the belief that a President Bush victory was positive for the sector. I believe tech's underperformance is a short-term phenomenon as this sector should benefit from the accelerating economic growth I foresee. Measures of investor anxiety fell today and will likely hit new intermediate-term lows over the next several months on diminishing domestic terrorism fears and rising stock prices.