NASDAQ 2,081.77 +.10%
Leading Sectors
Hospitals +2.63
Oil Service +2.10%
Energy +1.29%
Lagging Sectors
Airlines -1.47%
Broadcasting -1.53%
Transports -2.61%
Other
Crude Oil 45.60 -.18%
Natural Gas 5.90 -3.20%
Gold 426.60 +.99%
Base Metals 120.48 -.01%
U.S. Dollar 82.08 -1.19%
10-Yr. T-note Yield 4.24% +.14%
VIX 12.83 -2.73%
Put/Call .82 -6.82%
NYSE Arms .78 -55.93%
ISE Sentiment 178.00 -18.35%
Market Movers
UPS -7.2% after lowering 4Q guidance and multiple downgrades.
TASR +15.9% on bounce after recent plunge.
HCA +8.6% after raising 4Q guidance as it set aside less money for unpaid bills.
WBSN +8.71% after boosting 4Q estimates and Jeffries upgrade to Buy.
DWA +8.2% on Fulcrum Global upgrade to Buy.
COL +5.8% after boosting '05 forecast.
TRI +6.1% on HCA report.
MYGN +7.2% after saying it started enrollment in a Phase 3 human clinical trial of its therapeutic Alzheimer's disease treatment Flurizan.
SNDA -10.9% on profit-taking.
JOBS -5.6% on profit-taking.
CRDN -5.79% on Matrix downgrade to Sell.
Economic Data
Trade Balance for November fell to -$60.3B versus estimates of -$54.0B and -$56.0B in October.
Recommendations
-Goldman Sachs: Reiterated Outperform on INTC, UPS, SBC, KO, ACS, CZN, TU, AMX. Reiterated Underperform on DJ, T, LVLT. Goldman upgraded BLS to Outperform.
-Citi SmithBarney: Upgraded QLGC to Buy, target $44.
-Morgan Stanley: Rated TU Overweight, target $31.
-CSFB: Reiterated Outperform on FDX, target $130.
-Oppenheimer: Raised G to Sector Outperform, target $52..
-UBS: Raised LQU to Buy, target $22. Raised TIWI to Buy, target $14. Cut DNDN to Reduce, target $6.
-Bear Stearns: Rated ASCA Underperform. Rated CHH Outperform, target $66. Rated HET Outperform, target $80. Rated HMT Outperform, target $20. Rated MGG Outperform, target $85. Rated MAR Outperform, target $77. Rated OEH Outperform, target $26. Rated SHFL Outperform, target $53. Rated HOT Outperform, target $69. Rated WYNN Outperform, target $79. Rated STN Outperform, target $69.
-Merrill Lynch: Raised MRX to Buy, target $39. Downgraded CHZ to Sell.
-Raymond James: Raised LPNT to Strong Buy, target $43.
Mid-day News
U.S. stocks are slightly higher mid-day on gains in hospital, energy and semiconductor shares. The US Medicare system will probably try to curb costs by reducing the use of magnetic resonance imaging and other scans, the Wall Street Journal said. Manhattan's downtown district around the destroyed World Trade Center is experiencing a real estate revival driven by cheap rents, the Wall Street Journal reported. Children under the age of nine shouldn't use cell phones because of the risk of radiation penetrating their brains, the Daily Telegraph reported. SABMiller Plc may bid for Molson Inc. if Molson's proposed merger with Adolph Coors doesn't materialize, the Wall Street Journal reported. General Motors is recalling 98,221 Chevrolet and GMC pickup trucks, vans and sport-utility vehicles because steering wheels and brakes may fail, the AP reported. US Steel halted some deliveries of coke, a steelmaking ingredient, as flooding on the Monongahela and Ohio rivers hindered transportation, American Metal Market reported. Man Group Plc boosted assets under management to about $42 billion in the fourth quarter as returns improved, Bloomberg said. Kraft Foods will reduce the number of junk-food brands it advertises as part of its strategy to encourage consumers to adopt healthier diets, Bloomberg said. Mylan Labs said it may cancel a $4 billion agreement to buy King Pharmaceuticals because King is restating financial results, Bloomberg said. OfficeMax said its CFO resigned and the company will delay the release of fourth-quarter results after expanding an accounting probe, Bloomberg said. The US Supreme Court struck down aspects of the federal criminal sentencing guidelines in a decision that may bolster the rights of convicted drug traffickers and corporate-fraud defendants, Bloomberg said. The US dollar dropped by the most in five weeks against the euro and declined versus the yen after the US trade deficit unexpectedly expanded to a record in November, Bloomberg reported.
Bottom Line: The Portfolio is unchanged mid-day as gains in my telecom equipment longs are offsetting losses in my steel shorts. I have not traded today and the Portfolio is still 50% net long. The tone of the market is poor once again as decliners handily outpace advancers and tech stocks' reaction to Intel's positive report is muted. With investor complacency rising again today it is likely another push lower will come in the near-term. I expect US stocks to weaken into the close.
No comments:
Post a Comment