RECAP & STOCKS TO WATCH FOR THURSDAY, 2-15-01
Tech stocks diverged from the blue chips today, fueled by a buying spree in the chip sector after comments from Wall Street analysts that the worst may be over for the group. J.P. Morgan upgraded its rating on 5 semiconductor-related stocks: Applied Materials (AMAT), KLA-Tencor (KLAC), Novellus (NVLS), ASM Lithography (ASML), and Varian Semiconductor Equipment (VSEA). The Semiconductor Index (SOX) surged 7.8%, with the buying spilling into most of the lower-tier stocks and into the other tech sectors as well.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 63 points to close at 2,491. Volume was 1.96 billion shares, with decliners beating advancers by 20 to 17. Blue chips diverged from the techs as the Dow slid 107 points to finish at 10,795. Volume on the Big Board was 1.1 billion shares with decliners beating advancers by 17 to 14.
From a technical standpoint, support on the Nasdaq Composite bounced off of 2,400, with resistance at 2,660-2,700. The DJIA is resting on its 20-day Moving Average with next support at 10,700. The Semiconductor Index (SOX) pushed off the broad base it made at 620, and looks ready to test resistance at 680 and 700 (see chart).
The Semiconductor Index (SOX) on a daily basis: tradewindsonline.net
Earnings Spotlight: The following companies are among those due to report on Thursday: Dell Computer (DELL), Ciena Corp. (CIEN), Agile Software (AGIL), Hewlett-Packard (HWP), and Novell (NOVL).
VoiceStream (VSTR): Reports Q4 loss of $3.49 a share (including the effects of the Omnipoint and Aerial mergers). Revenues rose 296.7% to $649.90 mln from a year-ago of $163.84 mln.
NVIDIA Corp (NVDA): Reports Q4 earnings of $0.38 a share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.37, vs year-ago earnings of $0.19. Revenues rose 69.9% to $218.22 mln from a year-ago of $128.46 mln.
Advanced Digital (ADIC): Reports Q1 earnings of $0.16 a share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.14, vs year-ago earnings of $0.14; revenues rose 41.0% to $90.07 mln from a year-ago of $63.86 mln. |
