RECAP & STOCKS TO WATCH FOR WEDNESDAY, 1-10-01
Tech buyers surfaced today, snatching up shares of software and Internet issues, and ending the Nasdaq Composite’s 3-day skid. Semiconductor stocks showed slight losses but stood strong in the face of bad news from Nokia (NOK), who reported lower than expected handset sales and triggered selling in some equipment maker stocks. The Dow finished red for the 4th straight day, underscoring nice gains in the shares of AT&T (T) and Microsoft (MSFT).
There’s no sense in beating a dead horse as the question with traders still remains the state of the U.S. economy. Earnings season will officially kick off on Wednesday with Yahoo! (YHOO) and Motorola (MOT) due to report. With that, we should begin to see a shift in the news cycle from negative (earnings warnings) to positive (earnings surprises). Although the Fed has laid down the floor for the markets, traders and investors will need to see some Q4 reports surprises before confidently stepping in to buy. While today’s trading wouldn’t be categorized as exciting, it’s important to note that many of the large-caps, such as Cisco (CSCO), Sun Micro (SUNW), Dell Computer (DELL), EMC Corp. (EMC), Oracle (ORCL), and Microsoft (MSFT) put in solid steady gains today after rallying off of key support levels.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 45 points to close at 2,441. Volume was 1.9 billion shares, with 61 new highs compared to 80 new lows. Blue chips were pressured most of the day as the Dow lost 48 points to finish at 10,572. Volume on the Big Board was 1.1 billion shares with 165 stocks making new highs compared to 14 new lows.
From a technical standpoint, the Semiconductor Index (SOX) closed just on support at 630, with resistance in the 730-750 area. Support on the Nasdaq Composite stands at 2,250-2,200, with resistance at 2,550 and 2,850. The action today indicates a continuation off of the “hammer,” a reversal, that was formed on Monday.
Earnings Spotlight: Some closely watched earnings reports this week include Motorola (MOT), Rational Software (RATL), and Yahoo! (YHOO) on Wed., and Ariba (ARBA), Cree (CREE), DoubleClick (DCLK), and Rambus (RMBS) on Thur.
Applied Science (ASTX): Company warns for Q2; sees $0.18-0.20; current EPS estimate is $0.30. Expects revenues to remain essentially flat during the last half of company's fiscal year.
Genzyme (GENZ): Company reports that revenues for Q4 of 2000 grew 17 percent to $203 million compared to revenues of $173 million for the Q4 the year before. Total revenues for 2000 were up 16 percent to $760 million compared to revenues of $655 million for the previous year.
Veeco Instrmnts (VECO): Company Chairman and CEO, Edward H. Braun reports that Veeco's record orders of $184 million in the fourth quarter exceeded company's prior guidance of $150 million. |
