14:13 ET Market Movers : Loudeye Tech (LOUD 1.44 +0.36, +33%) -- inked multi-yr pact to provide music samples to AOL... Vimpel-Comm (VIP 17 +1.95, +13%) -- thinly traded Russian wireless company reports Q1 earnings... Toll Brothers (TOL 32.89 +1.84, +5.9%) -- homebuilder's shares rally in response to record Q2 results; sector name Beazer Homes (BZH 58.81 +2.75, +5%) runs in sympathy.
14:00 ET Dow -153, Nasdaq -94, S&P -21.04: [BRIEFING.COM] Nasdaq sell pressure continues to register extreme readings. Decliners outnumber advancers by roughly three to one while declining volume outpaces advance volume by 13 to 1. The one silver lining in today's activity is that total volume traded remains reasonably moderate at under 1.3 billion shares. Yet we already see signals of reduced market activity going into the Summer which makes a relative read on total volume somewhat difficult to gauge. Those advocating the market discounting mechanism are being put to the test today. In other words, investors buying in advance of an unspecified economic recovery have reasons to be less confident about the macroeconomic outlook. Cautious comments on the optical networking sector from Morgan Stanley and Sun Microsystems' (SUNW -13.1%) earnings warning are contributing to questions on the state of the economy. The Dow has just broken under 10,900 and the Nasdaq is working on a triple digit loss. DJTA -0.6%... DJUA +0.1%... SOX -6.7%... XOI -0.5%... BTK -3.7%... Nasdaq 100 -5.3%... S&P Midcap 400 -1.9%... Russell 2000 -1.5%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1101/1853... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 934/2695.
13:30 ET Dow -124, Nasdaq -89, S&P -17.62: [BRIEFING.COM] Many investors had been worried that upcoming earnings warnings might put an end to the recent strength in equities. Today's severe sell pressure helps explain that general sentiment. Earnings warnings can come at any time but the frequency of releases should pick up in mid-June. In many cases, it won't be the current quarter warning that influences sentiment but reports of the outlook going forward which have the potential to cause concern. If investors begin to sense that a trough in the economy is further out than two or three quarters, another leg down for the markets is a distinct possibility. It's also worth mentioning however, that investors tend to overweight immediately present information. Today's worries over SUNW have a hold on today's sentiment, but whether SUNW marks the beginning of a trend remains to be seen. Spotty buy interest is evident among selected issues in financials, retail, consumer goods, and drugs. DJTA -0.6%... DJUA +0.1%... SOX -6.0%... XOI -0.3%... BTK -3.0%... Nasdaq 100 -4.8%... S&P Midcap 400 -1.7%... Russell 2000 -1.3%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1104/1801... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 928/2644. |
