Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Stocks Finish at Session Lows After Fed Disappoints

Indices
S&P 500 1,221.34 -.79%
DJIA 10,481.52 -.72%
NASDAQ 2,131.33 -.65%
Russell 2000 660.63 -.96%
DJ Wilshire 5000 12,193.78 -.78%
S&P Barra Growth 583.03 -.70%
S&P Barra Value 634.12 -.87%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 578.76 -.67%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 718.52 -1.33%
Morgan Stanley Technology 499.22 -.52%
Transports 3,581.45 -.23%
Utilities 427.27 -.63%
Put/Call 1.05 +14.13%
NYSE Arms 1.74 +67.31%
Volatility(VIX) 12.64 +4.12%
ISE Sentiment 194.00 unch.
US Dollar 88.60 +.18%
CRB 325.16 -.69%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 66.93 +1.10%
Unleaded Gasoline 201.45 +1.92%
Natural Gas 12.49 -.02%
Heating Oil 202.00 +.43%
Gold 467.60 -.47%
Base Metals 127.11 +2.34%
Copper 166.60 unch.
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.24% -.09%

Leading Sectors
Oil Tankers +.51%
Tobacco +.22%
Networking +.10%

Lagging Sectors
Gaming -2.24%
Steel -3.21%
Homebuilders -3.37%

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 .

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Federal Reserve policy makers raised the benchmark interest rate for the 11th straight time and signaled they may do so again, saying the US economy faces only a “near-term” setback in employment, spending and production after Hurricane Katrina.
- GM will be the first company to average at least 20 miles per gallon in fuel efficiency with a large sport-utility vehicle.
- Microsoft realigned the company into three divisions and named presidents for each unit.
- Google, already facing complaints from publishers over its book-scanning program, was sued by the Authors Guild and three writers including a US Poet Laureate, who claim the company is violating copyrights.
- Hurricane Rita strengthened en route to the Gulf of Mexico, heading on a path that may threaten the Texas coast and parts of Louisiana devastated by Katrina three weeks earlier.
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished slightly higher today on gains in my Internet longs and Steel shorts. I added to my TLT long and a few existing shorts in the afternoon, thus leaving the Portfolio 50% net long. The tone of the market was negative today as the advance/decline line finished lower, almost every sector declined and volume was slightly above average. Measures of investor anxiety were higher into the close. Overall, today’s market action was negative given the decline in energy prices and stabilizing long-term rates. Even though the Fed maintained its "measured" language, a "pause" is still likely before year-end.

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