Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Stocks Higher Mid-day as Energy Shares Rebound

Indices
S&P 500 1,260.36 +.30%
DJIA 10,815.08 +.35%
NASDAQ 2,231.63 +.21%
Russell 2000 679.73 +.47%
DJ Wilshire 5000 12,609.44 +.34%
S&P Barra Growth 603.39 +.41%
S&P Barra Value 652.82 +.23%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 598.27 +.48%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 791.38 +.57%
Morgan Stanley Technology 530.19 +.33%
Transports 4,229.13 +.31%
Utilities 406.22 -.69%
Put/Call .83 -5.68%
NYSE Arms .90 -45.72%
Volatility(VIX) 11.30 -2.33%
ISE Sentiment 217.00 +10.15%
US Dollar 91.31 +.13%
CRB 329.54 +1.55%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 60.10 +3.34%
Unleaded Gasoline 159.50 +5.39%
Natural Gas 11.15 +1.16%
Heating Oil 168.40 +2.87%
Gold 517.40 +.21%
Base Metals 153.77 +.17%
Copper 206.55 -.17%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.37% +.85%

Leading Sectors
Oil Service +2.08%
Energy +1.85%
Gold & Silver +1.69%

Lagging Sectors
Utilities -.70%
Disk Drives -.77%
Airlines -2.51%
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is unchanged mid-day as losses in my Energy-related shorts are offsetting gains in my Retail longs and Internet longs. I added IWM and QQQQ shorts this morning, thus leaving the Portfolio 50% net long. The tone of the market is slightly positive as the advance/decline line is modestly higher, most sectors are higher and volume is light. Measures of investor anxiety are lower. Overall, today’s market action is positive considering the rise in energy prices and bears inability to gain traction. The Johnson Redbook same-store sales index rose 3.7% year-over-year last week vs. a 3.4% rise the prior week. This week's gain is up from a 1.5% increase in late April, and it's the 34th week in a row that the index has risen 3% or more. The Morgan Stanley Retail Index (MVRX) has returned 15.3% since late October vs. a 7.2% gain for the S&P 500. While these stocks are due for a breather, I expect this sector to continue to outperform over the intermediate term. I expect US stocks to trade mixed-to-higher into the close on short-covering, more optimism and seasonal strength.

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