Thursday, September 22, 2005

Stocks Finish Modestly Higher Ahead of Hurricane Rita

Indices
S&P 500 1,214.62 +.37%
DJIA 10,422.05 +.42%
NASDAQ 2,110.78 +.20%
Russell 2000 651.16 +.19%
DJ Wilshire 5000 12,105.59 +.29%
S&P Barra Growth 581.08 +.43%
S&P Barra Value 629.34 +.30%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 576.67 +.57%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 717.49 +.65%
Morgan Stanley Technology 494.31 +.12%
Transports 3,610.58 +.38%
Utilities 418.38 -.81%
Put/Call 1.35 +20.54%
NYSE Arms .74 -49.28%
Volatility(VIX) 13.33 -3.34%
ISE Sentiment 177.00 +31.1%
US Dollar 88.57 +.49%
CRB 328.29 +.38%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 66.76 +.39%
Unleaded Gasoline 212.55 -.65%
Natural Gas 12.97 +1.41%
Heating Oil 203.62 -.47%
Gold 468.70 -.34%
Base Metals 130.27 +.31%
Copper 170.75 -.15%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.18 +.32%

Leading Sectors
Restaurants +3.05%
Retail +2.43%
Homebuilders +2.18%

Lagging Sectors
Gold and Silver -.93%
Alternative Energy -1.08%
Oil Service -1.30%

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 HMA, ALK and TRI.
- Rated SEPR Outperform.

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Sun Microsystems had its credit rating cut to Ba1 or “junk” by Moody’s Investors Service.
- The US Senate Judiciary Committee approved John Roberts to be the nation’s 17th chief justice, clearing the way for his confirmation by the full Senate, as Democrats split on the decision.
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished higher today on gains in my Retail longs and Oil Tanker shorts. I did not trade in the afternoon, thus leaving the Portfolio 50% net long. The tone of the market was slightly negative today as the advance/decline line finished modestly lower, sector performance was mixed and volume was about average. Measures of investor anxiety were mostly lower into the close. Overall, today’s market action was slightly positive. Stocks will likely build on gains tomorrow if Rita is downgraded again overnight. However, if things remain the same or worsen, I would expect some more anxiety and profit-taking.

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