S&P 500 1,103.23 -.97%
NASDAQ 1,922.90 -.70%
Leading Sectors
Semis +1.03%
I-Banks +.97%
Computer Boxmakers +.71%
Lagging Sectors
Insurance -3.30%
Iron/Steel -5.47%
HMOs -9.38%
Other
Crude Oil 53.25 -.08%
Natural Gas 7.25 +1.78%
Gold 421.40 -.05%
Base Metals 113.21 +.08%
U.S. Dollar 86.82 -.23%
10-Yr. T-note Yield 4.03% -.24%
VIX 15.13 +2.86%
Put/Call .93 +22.37%
NYSE Arms 1.36 +37.37%
After-hours Movers
MOT -5.59% after missing 3Q estimates slightly and reiterating 4Q outlook.
ERTS -4.31% after meeting 2Q estimates and lowering 3Q guidance.
SGTL +10.1% after beating 3Q estimates and raising 4Q outlook.
JAKK -5.58% after World Wrestling Entertainment sued the maker of its action figures, alleging the company violated anti-bribery laws.
MKSI -5.98% after beating 3Q estimates and lowering 4Q outlook.
Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on INTC, GLK, AMD and WFC.
After-hours News
U.S. stocks finished modestly lower today led by significant declines in the insurance sector related to NY Attorney General Spitzer's probes. After the close, the family that controls Cox Communications will take the company private after raising its offer to buy out shareholders to $8.5 billion. MRIs may be a better guide for stroke treatment than CT scans, according to a study in the Oct. 20 Journal of the American Medical Association. A winter of lower-than-average temperatures and above-normal snowfall is expected in many parts of the eastern U.S., AccuWeather predicted. Motorola said third-quarter profit quadrupled to the highest level for the period in four years as new handset models revived sales, Bloomberg reported. The World Trade Center likely collapsed because jetliners that slammed into the twin towers knocked fireproofing loose, not because of missing or inadequate fire protection, according to findings released today by U.S. investigators, Bloomberg said. Bank of America said Jonathon Sandelman, who became president of the company's securities unit in February, is quitting to start a hedge fund, Bloomberg reported. Sinclair Broadcast Group said it will not broadcast in its entirety the documentary "Stolen Honor," a film by Vietnam Veterans critical of Senator Kerry's actions after the war, Bloomberg reported.
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished higher today on gains in my security, internet and retail longs. I exited a few longs in the steel and software sectors in the afternoon, bringing the Portfolio's market exposure to 100% net long. While the tone of the market was mostly negative, losses were contained mostly to insurance and base metal stocks. The Semiconductor Index, the most important sub-sector of technology, actually rose 1.03%. It is also good to see the spikes in some measures of investor anxiety. I will closely watch the market's reaction to tomorrow's oil inventory data and earnings reports before further shifting the Portfolio's market exposure.
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