MARKET TALK: Nothing Untoward In Inventories
08 Feb 10:05
Edited by Thomas Granahan
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
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10:05 (Dow Jones) Wholesale inventories down 0.6% in December. This decline
matches the fall in factory inventories. Unlikely to have much of an effect on
4Q GDP, if anything a slight upward revision. Suggests imports in Dec. were
probably subdued. (JM)
9:57 (Dow Jones) USD/JPY at highs for day as worries about the upcoming G7
meeting and disappointment with Japan's inability to turn around the economy
are leading the dollar higher, traders say. EUR is $0.8731, USD/JPY is Y134.54,
EUR/JPY is Y117.50. (JRH)
9:46 (Dow Jones) Banc of America's Chris Crespi says ONI Systems (ONIS) is a
survivor. The company has the balance sheet and product portfolio to make it
through telecom downturn and drive revenue growth when carrier spending
resumes. He says ONI is a pure play on the deployment and upgrade of metro
networks, which is where he expects spending will recover first. However,
Crespi cuts CY02 rev view to $165 million from $207.7 million and EPS view to
loss of 69c from 58c. Shares up 9% at $4.90. (TG)
9:35 (Dow Jones) High-yield bond mutual funds reported an $80.7 million
outflow during the week ended Feb. 6, according to market research firm AMG
Data Services. (JD)
9:26 (Dow Jones) With several heavyweights seeking to spiff up service, this
will be a very competitive year in fast-food, says Salomon Smith Barney analyst
Mark Kalinowski. He tabs Wendy's International (WEN) as a potential winner,
with Tricon Global (YUM) making strides. But Kalinowski says McDonald's (MCD)
"could be challenged to keep pace, as benefits from its efforts to improve
domestic operations may accrue more slowly than the Street would like to see."
(RLG)
9:15 (Dow Jones) Prudential bumps up slightly Wal-Mart (WMT) 4Q, 2001, and
2002 EPS views after above-plan January comps. Says the above-plan trend could
continue this year as Wal-Mart picks up share from Kmart (KM). Gross margins
may also get a boost this year in a more benign pricing environment. Keeps buy
rating, price target is $67. (TG)
9:05 (Dow Jones) Thomson Financial says 73 of the Nasdaq 100 companies have
reported 4Q results. Earnings for these companies are down 43.1% from the 4Q a
year ago, while earnings have exceeded analyst expectations by an average
23.5%. (TG)
8:56 (Dow Jones) Nowhere to hide in the equity mutual fund universe in the
week ended Thursday. Alongside sliding stock prices, an average stock fund lost
4.2% during the week, expanding its year-to-date loss to 6.2%. Leading the
decline were science & technology funds, down 9.4%, and telecommunications
funds, down 8.9%. Gold-oriented funds were again the only shiny spot in the
market, rising a whopping 9.32%. (YXH)
8:48 (Dow Jones) Merrill's long-term upgrade of Sun Micro (SUNW) based on
strategic shifts at company. Three key changes: endorsement of Linux; plans to
offer blade servers and a blade operating system; a de-emphasis of Solaris in
favor of infrastructure software Sun ONE and N1. Merrill still cautious
near-term, given selling and business model transitions. (TG)
8:42 (Dow Jones) AMAT reports 1Q Tuesday, and Lehman says that while the
short-term order outlook may be encouraging, current valuations reflect too
much optimism on rate of order recovery in CY02. Doesn't see meaningful
reacceleration until late 2002/early 2003 due to excess capacity and continued
weakness in end markets. Lehman stays cautious on the shares. (TG)
8:36 (Dow Jones) Phillips-Van Heusen's (PVH) shares "are more than 40% below
their 52-week high of $18.74 and a terrific value for small cap-oriented
investors," says Lehman Brothers, which upgrades the stock to buy. The firm
raises its 4Q estimates on PVH, says the company has an attractive risk/reward
ratio and sets a 12-month price target of $15. Lehman, which titled its report
"Need A Dress Shirt For That Suit?", also may be seeing a run on button-down
shirts as it returns to a formal dress policy next month. Shares closed
Thursday at $10.43. (GS)
8:30 (Dow Jones) If we had an indicator that could project what stocks will
do in the last hour of trading, we'd let you know. If the previous four
sessions are any indication, stocks are going to finish weak. In fact, some
Wall Street observers have noticed similarities between the recent trading
environment and that of late September - relative strength in the S&P 500 vs.
Nasdaq, and the propensity for such action to take place as the weekend
approaches. At the moment, though, things look slightly firmer. For what it's
worth (investors seem to be dismissing encouraging economic revelations,
anyway), wholesale inventories to be released a bit later. Goodyear (GT)
misses, cutting lots of jobs. Treasurys falling. (TG)
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 02-08-02
10:05 AM |
