13:00 ET Dow -70, Nasdaq -9, S&P -9.41: [BRIEFING.COM] The Nasdaq has made a decent recovery while the Dow seems to have
"stuck" at somewhat lower levels. Crude oil continues to sell off today on reports of higher than expected gasoline inventories. The July
contract is down 86 cents (3.1%) to $27.38 per barrel. Sell pressure on the commodity is contributing to weakness in oil-related equities as
well with the XOI selling off by 2.2% on an intraday basis. Separately, household products issues are stronger on a relative basis behind a
Lehman Brothers upgrade to consumer packaged goods company and Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG +2.1%). Financials
continue to get hit in today's session after cautious comments from both Bank One (ONE) and JP Morgan (JPM). The weakness is
interesting in light of the current expectations for monetary policy. DJTA -0.2%... DJUA -2.3%... SOX -0.1%... XOI -2.2%... BTK
-3.4%... Nasdaq 100 -0.4%... S&P Midcap 400 -1.1%... Russell 2000 -0.6%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1169/1722... Nasdaq Adv/Dec
1409/2109.
12:30 ET Dow -70, Nasdaq -17, S&P -10.14: [BRIEFING.COM] Still lower across the board but the losses remain relatively contained
to this point in trading. Those comments from HWP threw a bit of a wrench in the Nasdaq's intraday technicals. The "new" picture looks as
follows -- watch for very near term support at 2,195 initially with secondary and more important support in the area of 2,180. On the
upside, watch for first resistance at 2,223 which should serve as an indication of whether this current slide is "real". Market internals on the
Nasdaq are essentially neutral from the standpoint indicating near term direction. Worth noting however, is market breadth in which decliners
outpace advancers by roughly 3 to 2. DJTA -0.2%... DJUA -2.2%... SOX -1.4%... XOI -2.1%... BTK -3.9%... Nasdaq 100 -1.2%...
S&P Midcap 400 -1.2%... Russell 2000 -0.7%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1116/1732... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1343/2125.
12:00 ET Dow -84, Nasdaq -24, S&P -12.46: [BRIEFING.COM] The markets were hovering in modestly negative ground before
cautious comments from Dow component Hewlett-Packard (HWP -3.4%) sent the indices lower. In an intraday press release, the
company cautioned that it sees the slowdown in IT spending spreading beyond the U.S. and Europe. Specifically, HWP indicated that its
May sales in both consumer and enterprise markets were soft across all regions... This serves as yet another opportunity for investors to
ascertain exactly how much has been priced in at current levels. Soft IT spending here in the U.S. is a familiar issue for the markets. More
recently, rumblings of a slowdown in Europe have begun to concern traders. Yet today's news from HWP takes the issue one step further
and incorporates softness across all regions... Somewhat ironically, Sun Microsystems (SUNW +6.2%) continues to demonstrate strength
today on the back of positive comments from Goldman Sachs. The move is interesting in light of SUNW's comments last week which
suggested Europe was becoming more of a business issue than previously anticipated. Nonetheless, Goldman is out today stating its channel
checks indicate demand for SUNW's products is stabilizing here in the U.S... Also worth noting, a couple of banks are out with cautious
remarks today. Specifically, Bank One (ONE -2.3%) has warned its second quarter earnings will come in equal to or slightly above its first
quarter net of 58 cents per share. This is roughly 8% shy of the current mean estimate for Bank One which is 63 cents per share. The
company is citing credit deterioration and its decision to reduce credit exposure through voluntary loan sales as contributing to the shortfall.
Separately, Bernstein has cut its fiscal year 2001 numbers on JP Morgan (JPM -4.3%) to $2.75 EPS from a previously expected $3.05
EPS. The firm is saying that investment banking revenue has no forward momentum, and write-downs of investments in others' venture capital
funds will probably offset any realized gains in the current quarter. DJTA -0.2%... DJUA -2.4%... SOX -1.7%... XOI -2.2%... BTK
-4.0%... Nasdaq 100 -1.4%... S&P Midcap 400 -1.3%... Russell 2000 -0.7%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1062/1742... Nasdaq Adv/Dec
1307/2085.
11:30 ET Dow -70, Nasdaq -24, S&P -12.02: [BRIEFING.COM] We're seeing an extension of early losses on the back of comments
from Dow component Hewlett-Packard (HWP -3.8%). In an intraday press release, the company is cautioning that it sees the slowdown in
IT spending spreading beyond the US and Europe. Specifically, HWP says May sales in both consumer and enterprise markets were soft
across all regions. The company will be implementing additional expense reductions to increase the probability of achieving the current
consensus analyst estimate of $0.23 EPS. Among these measures is asking workers to take six days off in the second half of the year. The
major averages have taken a modest dive on this release and the technical picture has clearly deteriorated on an intraday basis. DJTA
-0.4%... DJUA -2.4%... SOX -1.6%... XOI -2.1%... BTK -3.7%... Nasdaq 100 -1.3%... S&P Midcap 400 -1.3%... Russell 2000
-0.7%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1030/1724... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1324/2001.
11:00 ET Dow -31, Nasdaq -1, S&P -7.40: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages continue to carry a modestly negative bias. With the
markets settled in now, it looks like financials and oil are experiencing the most severe sell pressure while pockets of strength are evident in
software related issues and selected retail names. Technology heavyweight Sun Microsystems (SUNW +8.4%) continues to demonstrate
notable strength in the wake of positive comments from Goldman Sachs. The firm says that recent checks with a large U.S. distributor
suggest SUNW's U.S. business is stabilizing. In spite of this generally positive sentiment, sympathetic moves in technology are limited to this
point in the day. The markets have maintained a reasonably tight range in early action. On the Nasdaq, watch for very near-term support in
the area of 2226 with near-term upside resistance in the range of 2250 to 2255. DJTA -0.3%... DJUA -2.1%... SOX -0.4%... XOI
-2.4%... BTK -3.5%... Nasdaq 100 -0.3%... S&P Midcap 400 -1.0%... Russell 2000 -0.5%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1046/1604... Nasdaq
Adv/Dec 1382/1757.
10:30 ET Dow -31, Nasdaq -7, S&P -8.82: [BRIEFING.COM] Lower now on each of the major averages. Blue chips and the broader
market are seeing mild sell pressure after the first hour while the Nasdaq is favoring the flatline. Oil-related issues are getting hammered in
early trading on the back of higher than expected gasoline inventories. In fact, the level of reported inventories hit 22-month highs for the
current month. In the wake of this news, crude oil has shaved off 1.8% with the July contract now trading at $27.72 per barrel. The XOI is
lower by 2.5% to this point in the session. DJTA -0.3%... DJUA -1.9%... SOX +0.2%... XOI -2.5%... BTK -3.1%... Nasdaq 100
+0.1%... S&P Midcap 400 -0.9%... Russell 2000 -0.3%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1035/1520... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1395/1637.
10:00 ET Dow -10, Nasdaq +7, S&P -3.21: [BRIEFING.COM] The markets are mixed after the first half hour of trading. The Dow is
posting a modest loss early on while the Nasdaq has edged into positive ground. Financials are contributing to the negative bias on the
broader markets as the group is weaker behind an earnings warning from Bank One (ONE -2.6%) and cautious comments from JP Morgan
(JPM -2.3%). The S&P Financial Index is lower by 1.0% early on which may make a broad market rally in today's session an uphill climb.
Market internals on the NYSE are neutral to modestly bearish while Nasdaq internals are generating a modestly bullish read early on. Total
volume traded is on the light side for both the Big Board and the Nasdaq. DJTA -0.2%... DJUA -0.6%... SOX -0.7%... XOI -1.9%... BTK
-2.9%... Nasdaq 100 -0.4%... S&P Midcap 400 -0.8%... Russell 2000 -0.3%... NYSE Adv/Dec 963/1309... Nasdaq Adv/Dec
1247/1479. |
