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11:12 ET Oracle Corp (ORCL) 16.83 -0.04 (-0.2%): In research note released before the open, DB Alex. Brown cautioned that its
channel data indicate that the selling environment remains difficult and deal closure is moving slowly; remains cautious on Oracle's ability to
achieve needed sequential growth to meet firm's estimates of $3.4 bln in revenues and EPS of $0.14 (consensus $0.15).
10:48 ET Whole Foods (WFMI) 51.12 +4.02 (+8.5%): Stock gapped up to $52.08 at the open in response to company's report of
a-penny-better Q2 results and Merrill Lynch upgrade to ACCUMULATE from Neutral (near-term); believes company has strong visibility
on comps and a stronger relative earnings story this year.
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11:00 ET Dow -74, Nasdaq +8, S&P -5.88: [BRIEFING.COM] The indices continue to trade near their session lows. The Nasdaq has
sold off on its gap up at the open after failing to take out yesterday's high at 2215. Intraday, without a move back above 2200 it will remain
vulnerable back to the 2168 support that held on Monday....PC-stocks have followed the Nasdaq's lead and have sold of after a strong
opening. UBS Warburg lowered estimates on Dell (DELL 25.13 -0.78) the firm does not believe we are at the bottom of this intense price
competition....Retail sales data for April were up, but declined from highs earlier in the month with most retailers missing sales targets in the
latest week. As a result, retail stocks have been weak heading into a bunch of same store sales releases on Thursday. There are no horror
stories, but under pressure are Lowe's (LOW 62.07 -1.43), Safeway (SWY 52.97 -1.07), Gap (GPS 28.01 -0.64), JC Penney (JCP
19.99 -0.41).
NYSE Adv/Dec 1244/1402... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1693/1560.
10:30 ET Dow -94, Nasdaq +7, S&P -6.69: [BRIEFING.COM] Both the Dow and the Nasdaq have headed sharply lower over the last
half hour. With the realization that the short sellers have for the most part covered their positions, traders are selling on the gap higher at the
open on the Cisco upgrade. The stock is up 33% over the past week meaning the sentiment of a positive qtr has already been priced in
heading into its release after the close today. Techs are selling off after the gap up....CLECs are weak today on Time Warner Tcom's
(TWTC -11%) caution that its growth rate may slow due to a softening economy and increasing customer bankruptcies. Another
CLEC, Choice One (CWON -15%), down sharply after reporting last night....Financials, retail and wireless stocks are coming under recent
pressure. DJUA -1.4%... SOX +1.0%... Nasdaq 100 +0.6%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1169/1334... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1610/1418.
10:00 ET Dow -22, Nasdaq +23, S&P +0.52: [BRIEFING.COM] Tech sectors continue to lead Nasdaq higher led by networking,
Internet, semiconductor, software and computer-hardware. Drug stocks are mixed in the early going. A couple of stocks to watch will
be Biogen (BGEN 55.95 -0.29) and Serono (SRA 23.58 +0.67). Merrill Lynch says Serono's MS drug results exceeded firm's
expectations which is a negative for Biogen's hugely successful Avonex, but now its orphan drug status is in doubt. Both companies are
presenting at a conference today....Seeing unusual move in grocery sector as Whole Foods (WFMI 51.11 +4.01) is up sharply after
reporting results and expecting strong same store comps for a grocery chain. Losing groups include oil, oil service, natural gas, gold, drug
and utility. NYSE Adv/Dec 1270/1025... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1759/1045.
09:45 ET Dow -11, Nasdaq +33, S&P +2.46: [BRIEFING.COM] The Nasdaq has opened strongly this morning, while the Dow opens
in negative territory. Techs are clearly the leaders so far. The combination of the Cisco (CSCO 20.48 +1.23) upgrade by Morgan Stanley
and Ciena's (CIEN 61 +5.72) deal with TyCom (TCM 16.48 +0.22) has networking sector booming out of the gate. Other strong
performers include RBAK +8%, EXTR +8%, AVNX +7%....Banks and brokerages are weak in the early going. Morgan Stanley
downgraded American Express (AXP 42.18 -1.05) to Neutral from Outperform citing unfavorable risk/reward dynamics. AXP is the worst
performer on the Dow....Cyclicals under pressure including machinery, oil services and integrated oil. |
