Updated: 20-Oct-00
General Commentary
Beginning to look like techs have put in at least a trading bottom, as Nasdaq soared in response to positive earnings news from Microsoft (MSFT 61 7/8 +10 1/8) and Nokia (NOK 38 1/8 +8 1/8)... Reports alleviated concerns over a pronounced slowdown in the PC and wireless markets... For how long is anybody's guess, but for now there's little question that sentiment is on the rise... Best indication of this can be seen in the combination of big gains and better than average volume in the sector leaders such as Microsoft (MSFT 61 7/8 +10 1/8), Yahoo! (YHOO 59 9/16 +6 13/16), Cisco (CSCO 58 1/4 +6), Intel (INTC 41 15/16 +3 3/4), Micron Tech (MU 34 11/16 +6 1/8), Sun Microsystems (SUNW 117 11/16 +7 3/8), Oracle (ORCL 36 3/8 +2 13/16, Corning (GLW 95 3/16 +5 13/16), Ariba (ARBA 130 31/64 +3 27/64), Nokia (NOK 38 1/8 +8 1/8), Worldcom (WCOM 26 3/4 +2 13/16, Vodafone (VOD 40 5/8 +3 3/8), Hewlett-Packard (HWP 90 15/16 +5 3/8) and EMC Corp. (EMC 97 +7).
With positive earnings news coming out after the close from eBay (EBAY 57 3/16 +3 13/16), Exodus (EXDS 38 1/16 +4 7/16), SDL Inc. (SDLI 289 1/8 +10 1/4) and Emulex (EMLX 148 +18 1/16), no reason to think that techs won't build on Thursday's gain in today's session... And if the market really starts to move, shorts will cover ahead of the weekend, potentially exaggerating the advance.
Briefing.com still not sure that a major bottom has been put in place yet, but the near-term bias has definitely shifted from negative to positive. That said, this is still a dangerous market where unexpected (bad) news can destroy a stock in the blink of an eye. |
