S&P 500 1,223.30 +.10%
NASDAQ 1,924.08 +.21%
Leading Sectors
Biotech +.85%
I-Banks +.64%
Software +.56%
Lagging Sectors
Airlines -.73%
Energy -1.36%
Oil Service -2.59%
Other
Crude Oil 53.27 -.02%
Natural Gas 7.00 -2.21%
Gold 423.00 -.35%
Base Metals 125.07 -.26%
U.S. Dollar 87.58 +.08%
10-Yr. T-note Yield 4.13% +.05%
VIX 15.06 +.07%
Put/Call .79 -21.0%
NYSE Arms 1.23 -48.96%
Market Movers
SNDK -4.67% on profit-taking.
MVK -5.9% on LSS report and boosting 3Q earnings.
SNDA +9.8% after saying it acquired a leading Chinese original entertainment literature portal.
SFCC +6.6% after Jeffries upgrade to Buy, target $33.
LSS -18.8% after lowering 3Q estimates and multiple downgrades.
TNP -5.6% after Hibernia Southcoast downgrade to Hold.
LDG -6.3% after JP Morgan downgrade to Neutral.
Economic Data
None of note.
Recommendations
Citi SmithBarney cut NWAC to Sell, target $6. Citi reiterated Buy on CNET, target $13. Citi reiterated Sell on ELNK, target $9. Citi reiterated Buy on MNST, target $29. Citi reiterated Buy on NFLX, target $26. Citi reiterated Buy on NWS, target $40. Citi reiterated Buy on MATK, target $90. Citi reiterated Buy on GE, target $38. Citi reiterated Buy on WMT, target $65. Citi reiterated Buy on INTC, target $25.50. Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on RCL, MSFT, INTC, IGT, HOT, FS, KO, BAX, AVP, PFE, JNPR and GE. Goldman reiterated Underperform on INFA and TLAB. MU cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank, target $9. TXN cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank, target $18. MXO raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank, target $7. Legg Mason raised FLYR to Buy, target $25.
Mid-day News
U.S. stocks are quietly higher mid-day on short-covering after Friday's Presidential debate. The use of fingerprints may soon replace cash and passwords in retail transactions and other uses with the spread of more effective and affordable readers, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the deputy crown prince of the UAE, said crude oil prices have to fall to a "normal" level of about $30/bbl. in the near future, Deutsche Welle tv reported. The average vacancy rate of U.S. apartments fell to 6.6%, declining for the second straight quarter, the Wall Street Journal reported. The coffee brands Eight O'Clock Coffee and Chock full o'Nuts Coffee are unveiling advertising campaigns with hopes of taking some of Starbucks' supermarket sales, USA Today reported. Dunkin' Donuts plans to spend $25 million on ads in 60 markets promoting its coffee, the Boston Herald reported. Afghan President Karzai's main election rival, Yunus Qanooni, said he would accept the voting results after a UN panel looks into accusations of fraud, Agence France-Presse reported. President Bush gained 2 percentage points and now leads Senator Kerry by 5 percentage points after Friday's debate, according to Washington Post's daily tracking poll. SunTrust Banks said it will restate results for the first and second quarters of this year, increasing profit, because the company incorrectly calculated loan losses, Bloomberg reported. Phelps Dodge said its board approved an $850 million mine expansion project in Peru and agreed to sell equity stakes that may raise as much as $500 million, Bloomberg said.
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is unchanged mid-day as my rising alternative energy and steel longs are being offset by my declining copper and medical technology longs. I have not traded today and the Portfolio is still 75% net long. The tone of the market is slightly positive, however volume is light. Stock prices will likely follow oil once again this afternoon as there is a lack of news today.
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