Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Stocks Higher Mid-day on Lower Energy Prices

Indices
S&P 500 1,222.65 +.27%
DJIA 10,565.20 +.49%
NASDAQ 2,149.48 +.58%
Russell 2000 656.71 +.32%
DJ Wilshire 5000 12,177.42 +.21%
S&P Barra Growth 585.49 +.33%
S&P Barra Value 633.38 +.30%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 587.03 +.23%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 744.27 +.43%
Morgan Stanley Technology 505.51 +1.13%
Transports 3,725.60 +.55%
Utilities 391.30 -.04%
Put/Call 1.06 +1.92%
NYSE Arms .96 -55.11%
Volatility(VIX) 13.16 -2.66%
ISE Sentiment 164.00 +19.71%
US Dollar 87.94 +.62%
CRB 314.41 -1.62%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 63.85 -3.37%
Unleaded Gasoline 191.75 -3.33%
Natural Gas 9.49 -2.69%
Heating Oil 181.00 -2.90%
Gold 445.20 -1.40%
Base Metals 128.16 -2.63%
Copper 165.70 -3.35%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.25% +1.24%

Leading Sectors
Computer Hardware +2.24%
Airlines +2.26%
Semis +1.55%

Lagging Sectors
Energy -2.0%
Gold & Silver -2.23%
Oil Tankers -2.24%
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is higher mid-day on gains in my Computer, Medical and Retail longs. I exited my IWM and QQQQ shorts this morning, thus leaving the Portfolio 75% net long. The tone of the market is positive as the advance/decline line is higher, most sectors are rising and volume is below average. Measures of investor anxiety are mostly lower. Today’s overall market action is modestly positive, considering the decline in energy prices, above-expectations PPI report and rise in long-term rates. Insider Buy of Note: A director of Capital One Financial (COF) recently purchased 232,980 shares at an average price of $83.13, bringing his total holdings to 854,445 shares. This stock is near a 52-week high. I expect US stocks to trade mixed-to-higher from current levels into the close on lower energy prices.

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