More from Briefing.com: 11:46AM Hewlett-Packard resumes repurchase program (HPQ) 19.47 -0.21: Announces that it has resumed its normal stock repurchase activities. HPQ has authorization to repurchase approx $1.4 bln. The buyback programs had been suspended while the merger with Compaq Computer was completed.
11:20AM Fairchild Semi revs tracking at high-end; files for 20 mln stk offering (FCS) 28.43 -1.32: Reports that Q2 orders have been stronger than expected and that revenues are tracking toward the high end of the company's original guidance of 3-5% sequential growth. Separately, FCS announces a 20 mln stock offering; FCS plans to sell 13 mln shares and a selling stockholder will offer 7 mln.
10:46AM National Semi upgraded at Morgan Stanley (NSM) 34.06 +0.78: -- Update -- Morgan Stanley upgrades to OVERWEIGHT from Equal-Weight; also likes TXN, SLAB, and CY.
10:30AM Zoran should not be affected by Mediatek cancellations (ZRAN) 37.78 -1.42: Hearing that Taiwanese co Mediatek may be seeing cancellations in DVD chipsets in China; however, this problem seems to be specific to Mediatek and should not be an issue for ZRAN, which appears to be down in sympathy.
10:29AM Market losses blamed on profit-taking; concerns over terrorist plots : In an interview Sunday with "Meet the Press," VP Dick Cheney warned that the prospect of "a future attack against the United States is almost certain." While Cheney did not state that attacks are imminent, he believes reports of increased communications among suspected al Qaeda operatives serve as a reminder that terrorists continue to operate. Also contributing to weakness is Merrill Lynch call to sell tech into strength (see 09:55 comment).
9:55AM Merrill Lynch reiterates selling tech into strength : Merrill Lynch in a pre-open note said that "mainstream" technology is not a growth sector anymore, and reiterates long-standing strategy of selling tech shares into strength given NASDAQ's recent rally; fragmentation, overcapacity, margin pressures, and pro forma reporting continue to plague the industry; however, the Pentagon may be the next "Killer App". Recommends redeploying assets into attractive themes such as: dividend-paying utilities, consumer staples, aerospace/defense, drugs, energy, and corporate-oriented financial stocks.
9:54AM Nasdaq Composite Intraday : -- Technical -- Index consolidating near the session lows but without sustained upticks back through short term resistance in the 1730 area it is expected to remain vulnerable to further downticks. Initial support is at the bottom of the end of week range (1713) with a stronger secondary support zone between 1700 and 1695.
9:05AM National Semi boosts revenue growth forecast (NSM) 33.28: Co now expects Q4 revenues to improve 12-13% sequentially vs guidance at the beginning of the qtr of 6-9% growth. The current Multex consensus estimate shows that analysts were expecting 7.8% growth. "Overall orders and turns bookings both came in at a better rate than we had originally projected, as we continue to make good progress in our key target segments such as wireless handsets and displays." NSM also seeing improving demand for analog products.
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Market down. VIX up. Good luck with the buys and sells Will. A close under 1700 would be a big technical negative for NASDAQ longs. Probably won't happen today.
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