13:00 ET Dow +16, Nasdaq -59, S&P -7.25: [BRIEFING.COM] Clearly a trend today where traders are shifting out of tech into select
cyclical groups and defensive sectors. Software, storage and EMS stocks are leading to the downside. Over the last hour, seeing a moderate
increase in banks stocks as a number of them creep into positive territory. Despite a positive report on consumer confidence, retailers are
mixed....Integrated oil stocks are clearly the leader today as oil prices are up ($28.85 +0.47bbl) on supply concerns from Iraq. Chevron
(CHV 96.58 +2.40) and Texaco (TX 72.06 +1.64) lead the group. XOI +1.1%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1426/1503... Nasdaq Adv/Dec
1306/2274.
12:35 ET Dow +14, Nasdaq -59, S&P -7.86: [BRIEFING.COM] Nasdaq is trading at its lows of the day while the Dow continues to
trade sideways....Little in the way of a catalyst for the market today. With techs having run strongly over the past 6 weeks, traders see little
reason to buy ahead of Sun conference call tonight. Also, that we will soon be entering earnings warning season over the next few weeks is
dampening enthusiasm....SOX Index (SOX 628.30 -26.34) continues to slide and is now off 11% in the past week. Every chip stock in the
red today with TMTA -10%, TQNT -9% leading to the downside...Hotel stocks are mixed despite Goldman Sachs lowering estimates on
MAR, FS, HLT...Gold has slipped below $275 an ounce. Briefing.com continues to believe that a sustained break through $275 could be
nasty. SOX -4.0%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1382/1507... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1297/2214.
12:00 ET Dow +30, Nasdaq -51, S&P -6.21: [BRIEFING.COM] Mid-day Summary: Goldman's cautious comments on EMC and
SUNW clearly setting the tone for the techs today. Merrill Lynch just came out with a note defending Sun ahead of the company's mid-qtr
conference call after the close. Citing an industry contact, Merrill's says calendar Q1 appears to have been the bottom as quarter is getting
stronger with May better than April and the expectation of a strong June. Nevertheless, conservative guidance is expected on the call. Be sure
to monitor Briefing.com's Short Stories page for live updates throughout the call which starts at 4:30 ET. EMC (EMC 34.50 -2.60) also
under pressure as it also announced a 4% workforce reduction. Storage sector is getting hammered: BRCD -8%, CRDS -10%, EMLX
-7%, MCDT -12%, NTAP -11%....Lucent (LU 8.27 -1.13) holders upset that pending deal with ALA will produce little to no
premium....Outside of tech, oil drillers have been up and down all day while the integrated oil stocks have provided leadership along with
other cyclicals like metals, paper and chemicals. Financials and electronic manufacturing stocks are among the weakest groups -- the latter
due to bearish analyst comments....A better-than-expected Consumer Confidence Report provided only temporary relief for the market as
the sellers quickly squelched that rally. NYSE Adv/Dec 1389/1474... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1301/2165.
11:35 ET Dow +25, Nasdaq -50, S&P -5.96: [BRIEFING.COM] Nasdaq has been unable to gain any traction this morning as plethora of
bad news bombards the techs. Bearish comments from Goldman Sachs on EMX and SUNW has taken down all techs. Traders hesitant to
be buying ahead of Sun's mid-qtr call after the bell. The fact that Sun pushed back the call from early afternoon to after the bell has worried
some that the news is bad....Some entertainment software stocks hitting new 52-wk highs: AKLM, MWY, TTWO....A merger in the oil
space as Conoco has agreed to buy exploration and production company Gulf Canada Resources for about $4.3 bln in cash....Chip
maker Fairchild Semi (FCS 20.40 -1.48) guiding down Q2 expectations. NYSE Adv/Dec 1325/1468... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1289/2102.
11:00 ET Dow +35, Nasdaq -47, S&P -5.38: [BRIEFING.COM] The Nasdaq remains solidly negative as traders swap out of techs in
favor of cyclicals. Storage group getting hammered on negative Goldman comments on EMC which also announced a 4% workforce
reduction. Other weak storage companies: BRCD -8%, CRDS -11%, EMLX -7%, MCDT -11%...As for the Dow, it's struggling to stay
north of technical/psychological support at 11,000. Next support of interest is the 10,940/10,930 area. Merck (MRK 74.30 +1.70) is the
top performing Dow stock...Airlines are weak on downgrades from ABN AMRO: DAL and AMR. Also, oil prices are higher on reports
from Turkey that it has not received a tanker loading schedule for any dates beyond Thursday. There always seems to be some semblance of
a disruption when the Iraq oil-for-food deal comes up for renewal. NYSE Adv/Dec 1260/1453... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1212/2080. |
