Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Mid-day Scoreboard

Indices
S&P 500 1,177.65 -.30%
DJIA 10,414.79 -.33%
NASDAQ 1,980.10 -.60%
Russell 2000 604.96 -.36%
DJ Wilshire 5000 11,586.81 -.37%
S&P Barra Growth 567.75 -.36%
S&P Barra Value 606.90 +.03%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 584.03 +.22%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 737.69 -.29%
Morgan Stanley Technology 449.08 -.54%
Transports 3,609.42%
Utilities 368.36 +.56%
Put/Call 1.32 +29.41%
NYSE Arms 1.10 +8.96%
Volatility(VIX) 12.16 +1.50%
ISE Sentiment 155.00 +6.90%
US Dollar 84.58 +.44%
CRB 303.15 -.34%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 52.53 -2.35%
Unleaded Gasoline 154.00 -.63%
Natural Gas 7.14 -2.24%
Heating Oil 147.25 -.98%
Gold 429.30 -.26%
Base Metals 129.60 -.77%
Copper 149.30 -2.10%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.44% +.28%

Leading Sectors
Insurance +.16%
Homebuilding -.10%
Foods -.24%

Lagging Sectors
Steel -2.30%
Airlines -2.59%
Oil Service -2.69%

BOTTOM LINE: US stocks are higher mid-day on declining long-term interest rates and falling energy prices. The Portfolio is slightly lower on losses in my Base Metal and Chinese ADR shorts. I exited a number of shorts today and added some Homebuilding, Tech and Retail longs, thus leaving the Portfolio 75% net long. The tone of the market is modestly positive as the advance/decline line is slightly higher, sector performance is mixed and volume is modest. Tech and Energy-related stocks are underperforming, while measures of investor anxiety are mostly higher. Today’s overall market action is positive, considering the shift in psychology. I believe now that it is very possible the market has seen its lows for the year as I sense a definite shift with respect to the direction of commodity prices, inflation and interest rates. I expect US stocks to rise into the close on falling long-term interest rates and lower energy prices.

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