Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Mid-day Scoreboard

Indices
S&P 500 1,177.11 -.90%
DJIA 10,441.28 -.64%
NASDAQ 1,981.76 -1.17%
Russell 2000 604.91 -1.32%
DJ Wilshire 5000 11,586.50 -.93%
S&P Barra Growth 568.20 -.82%
S&P Barra Value 604.37 -1.0%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 585.65 -.15%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 731.76 -1.55%
Morgan Stanley Technology 446.57 -1.37%
Transports 3,563.20 -2.28%
Utilities 367.55 -.62%
Put/Call .79 -33.05%
NYSE Arms 1.45 +50.50%
Volatility(VIX) 12.42 +9.91%
ISE Sentiment 183.00 +16.56%
US Dollar 84.45 +.01%
CRB 300.51 -.69%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 50.25 -3.10%
Unleaded Gasoline 148.20 -3.44%
Natural Gas 7.02 -1.04%
Heating Oil 143.90 -1.79%
Gold 431.10 +.42%
Base Metals 125.38 -3.26%
Copper 145.70 -2.61%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.39% +.79%

Leading Sectors
Drugs +1.26%
Tobacco +.33%
Hospitals +.26%

Lagging Sectors
Transports -2.14%
Semis -2.15%
Steel -3.33%

BOTTOM LINE: US stocks are lower mid-day on worries over slowing growth and a bounce in long-term interest rates. The Portfolio is slightly lower on losses in my Homebuilding, Tech and Financial longs. I exited a number of Tech and Homebuilding longs this morning, thus leaving the Portfolio’s market exposure 50% net long. The tone of the market is negative as the advance/decline line is weak, almost every sector is lower and volume is modest. Measures of investor anxiety are mixed. Today’s overall market action is negative, considering the decline in commodity prices, the market’s oversold state and its inability to add to yesterday’s gains. Investors appear to be factoring in the possibility of a recession sooner than I had anticipated. With commodity prices breaking down and economic data coming in bellow expectations, Fed comments will become even more important. Any sign that the pace of rate hikes will slow should spur equities. I believe this will occur over the coming weeks. I continue to expect lower energy prices, low interest rates and modestly improving employment prospects to boost economic growth in the second half. I expect US stocks to trade mixed into the close as lower energy prices offset worries over slowing growth.

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