Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Stocks Finish Slightly Lower on Weakness in Commodity Shares

Indices
S&P 500 1,307.85 -.41%
DJIA 11,400.28 -.14%
NASDAQ 2,303.97 -.25%
Russell 2000 767.73 +.02%
Wilshire 5000 13,234.29 -.33%
S&P Barra Growth 605.79 -.55%
S&P Barra Value 700.19 -.27%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 609.25 -.25%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 866.94 +.50%
Morgan Stanley Technology 545.51 +.40%
Transports 4,749.73 +.44%
Utilities 402.07 -.34%
Put/Call .89 +3.49%
NYSE Arms 1.16 +48.19%
Volatility(VIX) 11.99 unch.
ISE Sentiment 218.00 41.56%
US Dollar 85.84 unch.
CRB 352.20 -1.35%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 72.14 -.19%
Unleaded Gasoline 208.05 -.25%
Natural Gas 6.59 -.18%
Heating Oil 200.25 -.03%
Gold 667.80 -.10%
Base Metals 216.61 -.99%
Copper 328.60 -.57%
10-year US Treasury Yield 5.14% +.66%

Leading Sectors
Disk Drives +2.67%
Airlines +1.59%
Semis +1.24%

Lagging Sectors
Energy -1.50%
Oil Service -2.22%
HMOs -5.40%

Evening Review
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Economic Calendar
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GuruFocus.com
PM Market Call
After-hours Movers
Real-time/After-hours Stock Quote
In Play

Afternoon Recommendations
- None of note

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- NY’s health dept. plans to distribute nicotine patches to residents as part of its campaign against smoking.
- Venezuela, where President Chavez is raising royalties and taxes on international oil companies, need foreign investment to develop its energy resources, Foreign Minister Rodriquez said.
- Starbucks(SBUX) said fiscal second-quarter profit rose 27% on demand for espresso-based drinks and breakfast and lunch items.
- Whole Foods Market(WFMI) said fiscal second-quarter profit rose 27%, lifted by new store openings and sales of prepared foods.
- The US, UK and France gave member governments of the UN Security Council a draft resolution demanding that Iran cease uranium enrichment, and said they would seek sanctions should the government in Tehran fail to comply. China and Russia oppose the measure.
- Oil fell more than $2/bbl. in NY today as inventories surged to more than 8-year highs and demand for gasoline stagnated as prices rose.

Handelsblatt:
- The Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank expects the US economy to continue to grow between 3% and 4% this year and through 2007, citing bank President Gary Stern.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished higher today on gains in my Biotech longs, Semi longs and Energy-related shorts. I did not trade in the final hour, thus leaving the Portfolio 75% net long. The tone of the market was mixed today as the advance/decline line finished about unchanged, sector performance was mixed and volume was above average. Measures of investor anxiety were mostly higher into the close. Overall, today's market performance was neutral. Considering the fall in energy prices and the muted reaction in the bond market to more very positive economic data, today's slight losses were a bit disappointing. The major averages and breadth, however, finished near session highs. Significant losses were mainly confined to commodity-related and HMO stocks. The tech sector outperformed throughout the day. I want to see further positive technical action in techs and more weakness in long-rates before shifting market exposure further.

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