13:00 ET Dow -85, Nasdaq -7, S&P -10.68: [BRIEFING.COM] The market tone has improved mildly since mid-day but the major averages continue to trade in negative ground. Total volume traded is actually moderate to slightly heavy which is somewhat unusual for a Friday during the Summer. Next week marks the end of the calendar year second quarter and talk of window dressing is becoming more common. "Window dressing" is a term used to describe the portfolio activity of mutual funds. Most funds send out a quarterly report which reflects their holdings as of quarter's end. As a consequence, funds tend to sell out of positions that were big losers for the quarter. The flip side, however, is that funds like to initiate positions in issues that performed well. Even if they captured none of the quarterly gains, many funds see it as aesthetically pleasant to have a big winner on the books. The point being that window dressing tends to accentuate an issue's quarterly performance. Put another way, if a stock traded substantially higher for the quarter, don't be surprised to see it add to its gains over the next week. The inverse of this relationship is also applicable. DJTA -1.2%... DJUA -0.1%... SOX +1.4%... XOI -0.3%... BTK -3.6%... Nasdaq 100 -0.3%... S&P Midcap 400 -1.6%... Russell 2000 -1.5%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1130/1770... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1476/1886.
12:30 ET Dow -98, Nasdaq -13, S&P -12.75: [BRIEFING.COM] The retail apparel group has been on the defensive in today's session. The sell pressure comes on the heels of negative comments from Gap Inc (GPS -6.4%). Last night, the company said it would be trimming its headquarters staff of 10,000 by roughly 5%-7%. In addition, GPS said it would take a second-quarter charge of $10 million to $20 million which equates to 1 to 2 cents per share. Separately, Robertson Stephens has downgraded Ann Taylor (ANN -5.1%) to Market Perform from Buy citing recent price appreciation that puts stock close to firm's $40 price target. Robbie also believes the generally weak retail environment could cause ANN's turnaround to come at slower-than-expected levels. DJTA -1.3%... DJUA -0.3%... SOX +0.8%... XOI -0.8%... BTK -3.6%... Nasdaq 100 -0.8%... S&P Midcap 400 -1.8%... Russell 2000 -1.6%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1052/1812... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1408/1902.
12:00 ET Dow -105, Nasdaq -8, S&P -11.90: [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are now in negative ground across the board. Sell pressure is greatest in blue chips with the Dow posting a 0.8% intraday loss. Contributing to blue chip weakness is the defensive posture of Dow component Merck (MRK -8.4%) which accounts for 41 points of the index's drop at mid-day. The pharmaceutical company reported that sales of one of its key products may come in light this quarter which has been the catalyst for MRK's precipitous decline... The Nasdaq has held in relatively better for today's session behind relative strength from the semiconductor group. Though off today's best levels, the SOX is higher by 1.7% in spite of a few negative announcements from the sector last night. Specifically, Micron Technology (MU +3.9%) reported a sizeable loss for its most recent quarter. The magnitude of the loss was due to an inventory writedown which was not entirely a surprise to many top tier firms. MU wrote off roughly $260 million in inventory while some firms were estimating a writedown as high as $400 million. Separately, the North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted a book-to-bill ratio of 0.46 in May which was below an estimates for 0.54 (this is the mean of three estimates). Nonetheless, the May numbers did constitute a slight improvment from April's reading of 0.44... Investors continue to position themselves ahead of next week's decision on rate cuts from the Fed. Debate has centered around whether the Fed's rate cut will be 25 basis points or 50 basis points. This morning, Goldman Sachs economists increased their rate cut forecast to 50 basis points. This fits with the trend in sentiment which has been moving towards a 50 basis point rate cut. Briefing.com continues to expect a 25 basis point cut though we don't dispute this is difficult forecast. DJTA -1.3%... DJUA -0.3%... SOX +1.7%... XOI -0.9%... BTK -3.5%... Nasdaq 100 -0.1%... S&P Midcap 400 -1.6%... Russell 2000 -1.3%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1028/1794... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1381/1829.
11:35 ET Dow -82, Nasdaq -1, S&P -9.95: [BRIEFING.COM] Buy interest in telecomm equipment issues is worth mentioning today. The group has been largely ingnored for several months now as its earnings reports and forward looking guidance have been horrible. Nonetheless, both Robertson Stephens and Wit SoundView have come out with bullish calls on particular issues in the sector. Robertson Stephens is saying it sees value in the following telecom equipment "orphans" based on analysis of cash positions: Sycamore (SCMR +6.2%), Corvis (CORV +4.6%), Clarent (CLRN -5.8%), and Cosine (COSN Unch). Wit SoundView has upgraded Nortel (NT +4.5%) and JDS Uniphase (JDSU +10.5%). DJTA -1.2%... DJUA -0.4%... SOX +2.8%... XOI -0.8%... BTK -2.9%... Nasdaq 100 +0.6%... S&P Midcap 400 -1.1%... Russell 2000 -1.0%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1087/1672... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1381/1731.
11:05 ET Dow -78, Nasdaq +5, S&P -7.74: [BRIEFING.COM] Still a mixed market with the Dow lower and the Nasdaq in positive ground. Buy interest in semiconductor issues is contributing to strength in the broader technology market. The SOX is higher by 3.1% despite a few negative developments for the sector last night. Specifically, Micron Technology (MU +3.9%) reported a sizeable quarterly loss last night. The magnitude of the loss was due to an inventory writedown that was not entirely a surprise to many top tier firms. MU wrote of roughly $260 million in inventory while some firms were estimating a writedown as high as $400 million. Separately, the North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted a book-to-bill ratio of 0.46 in May which was below an estimates for 0.54 (this is the mean of three estimates). Nonetheless, the May numbers did constitute a slight improvment from April's reading of 0.44. DJTA -1.3%... DJUA -0.5%... SOX +2.9%... XOI -0.3%... BTK -2.5%... Nasdaq 100 +0.7%... S&P Midcap 400 -0.8%... Russell 2000 -0.7%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1112/1542... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1371/1586.
10:30 ET Dow -53, Nasdaq +8, S&P -5.71: [BRIEFING.COM] The Dow is lower on the back of news from Merck (MRK -8.0%). The drug maker accounts for roughly 42 points of the current Dow intraday loss. The issue opened roughly 15 minutes late which sent the blue chip index on a rapid descent towards the start of the trading day. Put another way, current blue chip weakness isn't nearly as pronounced as it might appear on its face. MRK reported that sales of one of its key products may come in light this quarter. The Nasdaq has held in relatively well to this point in the day. Market internals are bullish and large cap leadership has been evident throughout the session. It's also encouraging to see buy interest in the long avoided telecomm equipment sector. DJTA -1.2%... DJUA -0.1%... SOX +2.0%... XOI -0.1%... BTK -2.3%... Nasdaq 100 +0.3%... S&P Midcap 400 -0.7%... Russell 2000 -0.7%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1011/1486... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1246/1539.
10:05 ET Dow -68, Nasdaq -5, S&P -9.35: [BRIEFING.COM] The markets are lower after the first half hour. Investors are continuing to position themselves ahead of the Fed's policy directive due next Wednesday. Debate has centered around whether the Fed's rate cut will be 25 basis points or 50 basis points. This morning, Goldman Sachs economists increased their rate cut forecast to 50 basis points. This fits with the trend in sentiment which has been moving towards a 50 basis point rate cut. Briefing.com continues to expect a 25 basis point cut though we don't dispute this is difficult forecast. Financials, which were notably strong yesterday, are weaker to start today's session. This group tends to outperform in a monetary easing environment. The question is simply are we too close to the end of the easing cycle for much more headway on the upside. On the broader market gold, chips, telecomm equipment, natural gas and utilities are experiencing buy interest. Sell pressure is hitting transports, pollution control, health care and drugs. DJTA -1.1%... DJUA +0.8%... SOX +1.6%... XOI +0.1%... BTK -1.4%... Nasdaq 100 -0.5%... S&P Midcap 400 -0.4%... Russell 2000 -0.4%... NYSE Adv/Dec 1124/1201... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1137/1339.
09:45 ET Dow -47, Nasdaq -3, S&P -3.89: [BRIEFING.COM] The markets have started the day modestly negative. Technology strength is evident in a few pockets that have not seen much buy interest recently. Optics, telecomm equipment and wireless issues are outperforming the broader tech market to begin the day. Also notable is buy interest in large cap technology. CSCO, INTC, MSFT and SUNW currently trade positive despite very slight Nasdaq weakness. On the broader markets, financials and retail are mixed to start the day while oil-related equities are experiencing early buy interest. Dow weakness is more pronounced to start with the blue chip index negative by nearly 50 points. |
