Monday, September 12, 2005

Stocks Finish Modestly Higher on Merger Activity and Falling Energy Prices

Indices
S&P 500 1,240.56 -.07%
DJIA 10,682.94 +.04%
NASDAQ 2,182.83 +.34%
Russell 2000 680.82 +.41%
DJ Wilshire 5000 12,403.63 -.03%
S&P Barra Growth 594.00 -.04%
S&P Barra Value 642.19 -.10%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 591.34 -.14%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 750.64 +.46%
Morgan Stanley Technology 507.95 +.35%
Transports 3,647.88 +.70%
Utilities 420.57 -.11%
Put/Call .86 +13.16%
NYSE Arms .95 +27.97%
Volatility(VIX) 11.65 -2.75%
ISE Sentiment 176.00 -9.28%
US Dollar 87.68 +.91%
CRB 319.98 -1.03%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 63.22 -1.34%
Unleaded Gasoline 188.30 -3.91%
Natural Gas 10.87 -3.44%
Heating Oil 181.30 -4.40%
Gold 453.30 +.07%
Base Metals 128.63 +1.21%
Copper 163.80 +2.12%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.17% +1.26%

Leading Sectors
Airlines +2.75%
Broadcasting +2.66%
I-Banks +1.11%

Lagging Sectors
Oil Tankers -1.77%
Energy -2.03%
Oil Service -2.66%

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 ODP.

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Michael Brown resigned as head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency.
- Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said hw will “not rush to judgment” about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the US economy and how central bankers ought to repond.
- Abbott Labs’ Xinlay prostate-cancer pill and OSI Pharmaceuticals’ Tarceva for pancreatic cancer both threaten serious side affects without doing much so slow cancer growth, US regulators said.
- Ford Motor agreed to sell Hertz Corp., the largest US car-rental company, to investors Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch’s buyout unit for about $15 billion.
- Oracle’s agreement to buy Siebel Systems caps $16.6 billion of US deals announced today, the busiest day for mergers in more than two months, and suggests companies are confident about the economy’s prospects.
- Parts of Los Angeles, the second-largest US city, lost electrical power this afternoon, affecting areas including the downtown and Hollywood.
- Crude oil and gasoline fell on signs record fuel prices and the disruptions cuased by Katrina will reduce consumption.
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished substantially higher today on gains in my Energy-related shorts, Internet longs, Retail longs, Airline longs and Semiconductor longs. I did not trade in the afternoon, thus leaving the Portfolio 100% net long. The tone of the market was positive today as the advance/decline line finished higher, sector performance was mixed and volume was slightly above average. Measures of investor anxiety were mostly higher into the close. Overall, today’s market action was slightly positive. I will be looking to add to my Best Buy (BBY) long on any temporary weakness surrounding tomorrow's earnings report. While I expect all of retail to outperform through year-end, Best Buy is my favorite stock in the group. Shares should rise substantially from current levels.

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