14:30 ET Dow +436, Nasdaq +195, S&P +52.49: [BRIEFING.COM] The catalyst for today's move is clearly the Fed's half-point rate
cut. Yet over the past week, money had begun filtering into equities due to a sense that coporate earnings are somewhat more visible.
There's no question that visibility is good for the markets, but the subsequent question becomes, "Is visibility alone enough to send stocks
markedly higher?" With the poor economic outlook over the intermediate term, the corporate fundamental picture continues to be dubious in
many cases. While investors have an improved ability to ascertain value, there will continue to be debate over what constitutes "fair value" in
the current economic environment. Once the shine wears off today's rally, investors will once again turn to corporate earnings reports.
Notable releases tonight include IBM, SEBL, AMD, BRCM and SANM. For complete details on tonight's activity, please visit
Briefing.com's Earnings Calendar. DJTA +3.3%... DJUA -1.2%... SOX +14.4%... XOI -0.9%... BTK +6.2%... Nasdaq 100 +11.8%...
S&P Midcap 400 +3.9%... Russell 2000 +3.0%... NYSE Adv/Dec 2044/997... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 2868/1022.
14:00 ET Dow +425, Nasdaq +196, S&P +51.68: [BRIEFING.COM] Merrill Lynch has just upped its asset allocation to equities.
Stocks go to 70% from 65% while bonds drop from 30% to 25% -- cash remains static at 5%. This is sending the indices modestly higher
on intraday gains that are already severely extended. This rally looks very good from the standpoint of sector participation. Techs, financials
and retail are each solidly higher and these are the base elements investors watch when seeking a "real" rally. Notably, cyclical issues are
also posting healthy gains which is indicative of how closely these businesses are tied to monetary policy. Leadership is definitely evident in
large cap technology issues with Intel (INTC +23%), Cisco Systems (CSCO +13%) and Sun Microsystems (SUNW +19%) each seeing
substantial buy interest. The Nasdaq itself is sporting a massive 10% intraday gain. Market weakness is almost exclusively defensive in
nature as beverages, gold, tobacco, drugs, utilities and health care are each experiencing sell pressure. DJTA +3.4%... DJUA -1.1%...
SOX +14.4%... XOI -0.6%... BTK +5.3%... Nasdaq 100 +11.8%... S&P Midcap 400 +3.9%... Russell 2000 +3.0%... NYSE Adv/Dec
2050/979... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 2837/1007. |
