Monday, March 21, 2005

Monday Close

Indices
S&P 500 1,183.78 -.49%
DJIA 10,565.39 -.60%
NASDAQ 2,007.51 -.01%
Russell 2000 621.57 -.16%
DJ Wilshire 5000 11,678.83 -.42%
S&P Barra Growth 569.88 -.38%
S&P Barra Value 609.58 -.60%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 573.51 -.41%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 763.95 -.22%
Morgan Stanley Technology 457.73 -.27%
Transports 3,749.47 -.03%
Utilities 358.91 -.08%
Put/Call .77 -39.37%
NYSE Arms .90 +1.97%
Volatility(VIX) 13.61 +3.58%
ISE Sentiment 132.00 +.76%
US Dollar 82.97 +1.12%
CRB 313.49 -1.79%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 56.62 -.18%
Unleaded Gasoline 159.20 -.23%
Natural Gas 7.32 +.03%
Heating Oil 157.35 unch.
Gold 431.30 -.02%
Base Metals 130.28 -.29%
Copper 148.75 -.10%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.52% +.36%

Leading Sectors
Computer Service +2.28%
Airlines +1.83%
Broadcasting +.48%

Lagging Sectors
Defense -.97%
Tobacco -1.03%
Insurance -1.79%

After-hours Movers
WYE +3.44% after boosting 1Q forecast and reaffirming 05 outlook.
ERTS -11.92% after lowering 05 guidance.
TTWO -5.84%, ELBO -5.25%, THQI -5.53% and ATVI -5.26% on ERTS news.

Evening Review
Detailed Market Summary
Daily ETF Performance
Style Performance
Market Wrap CNBC Video(bottom right)
Futures Recap
S&P 500 Gallery View
Timely Economic Charts
PM Market Call
Real-time/After-hours Stock Quote
In Play

Afternoon Recommendations
- Goldman Sachs: Reiterated Outperform on MO.
- Wachovia: Rated EMAG Outperform. Rated VVUS Outperform.

After-hours News
US stocks finished lower today on continuing worries over future economic growth. After the close, Quicksilver Inc., a US maker of ski clothing, will say tomorrow it’s buying a controlling stake in French ski equipment maker Skis Rossignol SA, AFP reported. Rubert Murdoch’s News Corp. may gain a license to broadcast directly in India, avoiding the monopoly of local cable operators, the Financial Times reported. Southwest Airlines plans to expand capacity by 10% in 2005 without boosting staff levels, the Financial Times reported. Huawei Technologies is seeking partnerships with Nortel Networks and Lucent Technologies to bolster sales in the US and Europe, China Daily said. The US opposed UN Secretary-General Annan’s call for new guidelines on the use of military force in a report that recommends expansion of the Security Council and dozens of other steps designed to make the world body more effective after recent evidence of massive fraud and sexual abuse, Bloomberg reported. President Bush said Congress must be willing to debate all ideas about how to solve Social Security’s future funding shortfall to come up with a “permanent fix” for the system, Bloomberg said. Goldman Sachs Group agreed to buy Zilkha Renewable Energy, a developer of wind power projects, to expand its electricity-generating business, Bloomberg reported. Gasoline climbed an average of 5.3 cents to $2.109 a gallon for the week ended today, surpassing the previous high of $2.064 reached May 24, Bloomberg said. Time Warner agreed to pay $300 million to settle US SEC allegations its AOL unit overstated ad revenue and subscriber numbers, Bloomberg reported. GM CEO Wagnor, who last week forecast the company’s biggest quarterly loss since 1992, bought $1.5 million of GM shares today, boosting his stake in the company by 25% in what he said was a vote of confidence, Bloomberg reported.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished slightly lower today on losses in my Chinese ADR shorts and Wireless longs. I took profits in a few Tech shorts in the afternoon and added a few new Tech longs, thus leaving the Portfolio 50% net long. One of my new longs is YHOO and I am using a $30.75 stop-loss on this position. The tone of the market improved slightly into the afternoon as the advance/decline line rose from daily lows, most sectors trimmed losses and volume remained light. Small-caps, Techs and Transports outperformed throughout the day and measures of investor anxiety were mixed. Overall, today’s market action was negative, considering recent losses, a firming US dollar, a declining CRB Index and the stabilization of energy prices/ interest rates. The CRB Index has likely topped for the year after its recent “blow-off” style run-up. However, a test of its recent highs may occur over the next couple of months before a more significant decline occurs in this index in the second half of the year.

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