Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Stocks Finish Mixed as Oil Reverses Lower

Indices
S&P 500 1,245.04 +.07%
DJIA 10,697.59 +.13%
NASDAQ 2,216.81 -.06%
Russell 2000 683.38 -.75%
DJ Wilshire 5000 12,439.49 -.02%
S&P Barra Growth 597.54 +.04%
S&P Barra Value 643.05 +.11%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 592.44 +.04%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 763.14 -.25%
Morgan Stanley Technology 509.08 +.34%
Transports 3,802.95 -.37%
Utilities 405.27 +.71%
Put/Call .89 -5.32%
NYSE Arms .94 +1.28%
Volatility(VIX) 11.83 +.68%
ISE Sentiment 272.00 +61.90%
US Dollar 87.99 -.87%
CRB 315.32 -.71%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 60.95 -1.52%
Unleaded Gasoline 177.05 -.62%
Natural Gas 8.38 +.02%
Heating Oil 168.90 -2.09%
Gold 442.20 -.11
Base Metals 128.33 +.16%
Copper 167.05 -.06%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.29% -.96%

Leading Sectors
Gold & Silver +4.02%
HMOs +1.31%
Broadcasting +.84%

Lagging Sectors
Homebuilders -1.14%
Steel -1.33%
Airlines -1.45%

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

Afternoon Recommendations
Goldman Sachs:
- Reiterated Outperform on CVS and CSCO.
- Reiterated Underperform on MKL.

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- China is likely to let the yuan gain 5% against the dollar by 2007, not enough to slow its economy or end US criticism that the nation has an unfair trade advantage, according to a Bloomberg survey.
- Toyota Motor may generate as much as 25% of it US sales from gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles by 2010.
- Delta Air Lines shares dropped to their lowest in at least 43 years, continuing a slide that has sent the stock down 42% since mid-July amid concerns that the company is closer to filing for bankruptcy.
- A NYSE membership sold for a record $3 million today, surpassing the mark set in August 1999 during heights of the stock market bubble.
- Crude oil is falling for a second day in NY after the US Energy Dept. said inventories rose for the first time in five weeks amid a jump in imports.
- Sprint won approval from US regulators for its proposed $36 billion takeover of Nextel Communications without having to sell any assets.
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished higher today on gains in my Medical, Semiconductor and Retail longs. I did not trade in the afternoon, thus leaving the Portfolio 100% net long. The tone of the market was modestly negative today as the advance/decline line finished lower, sector performance was mixed and volume was about average. Measures of investor anxiety were mixed into the close. Overall, today’s market action was neutral. Over the last two weeks, oil tanker rates from the Persian Gulf to the U.S. have dropped 13%. They are now down 70% from November 2004 highs. This is with OPEC pumping near 30-year high levels. I do not believe it is too late to short these stocks. I remain overweight short this group.

No comments: