(DOW JONES) DJN: DJ MARKET TALK: Verisign Hits 52-Week Low
DJN: DJ MARKET TALK: Verisign Hits 52-Week Low
Edited by Thomas Granahan
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
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12:18 (Dow Jones) Verisign (VRSN) shares fall for second-straight session,
reaching a 52-week low. Analysts point to delays in the rollout by Icann of
new top-level domain name extensions like .biz, .name and .museum to the
third quarter of 2001 from the second quarter. A Wall Street Journal piece
highlighting possible fledgling competitor, New.net, funded by investor Bill
Gross' closely held idealab!, also pressured the stock, said First Union's
Chris Russ. (MM)
12:08 (Dow Jones) Merrill Lynch gets more bullish on U.S. equities, while
its enthusiasm for Europe cools. Merrill has upgraded the U.S. from neutral
to overweight, citing positive slope of Tsys market yield curve, much bad
news about U.S. companies already coming to light, and the Fed cutting
rates, with prospect of more easing to come, said Merrill strategists Bowers
and Hartnett. (JNP)
12:00 (Dow Jones) March S&Ps are holding gains, but traders say the
diminished trading out of N.Y. is having an impact in Chicago. "The market
is flopping around and we're really anemic," one floor trader says. Lehman
and Merrill are buyers, but volume is light. When volume is light, the
market generally has a mild bid, and traders say that's occurring now, too.
(DMC)
11:57 (Dow Jones) Survey from Hawkeye Communications, a global marketing
firm, showed 79% of marketers surveyed said they have taken less risks at
their job in the last six months because of the softening economy. Overall,
62% felt they have had to prove themselves on a more consistent basis in
order to keep their jobs in the last six months. A few other tidbits: 67% of
marketers said they have dressed more conservatively in the last six months,
and 51% said they feel they are wearing even more black in their wardrobe in
the last six months. (TG)
11:43 (Dow Jones) Bond fund managers see a 41% chance of recession compared
to a 38% in early January, according to a Ried Thunberg poll. The "U" shaped
recovery view gets the vote of 61%, beating the "V" camp's 23%. (MSD)
11:30 (Dow Jones) Most eyes this week will be on the IPO of Loudcloud, the
Internet software company founded by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen. But,
though the deal won't price until Wednesday, analysts are already turning
sour, saying the company is out of place at a time when investors demand
older, profitable companies for IPOs. Irv DeGraw, with WFN USA, calls the
deal "a very speculative offering under any market conditions," while
Renaissance Capital says Loudcloud "appear(s) as out of place as Jerry
Falwell at the Sturgis biker rally." (RJH)
11:26 (Dow Jones) What slowdown? February traffic at Southwest Airlines
(LUV) climbed 8.5% from a year ago to 3.3B revenue passenger miles. Capacity
at the Dallas-based low-fare carrier increased 9% to 4.9B available seat
miles, while it filled 66.9% of its available seats, down slightly from
67.2% a year ago. Southwest shares are up 3.3% on the news, while the AMEX
Airline index was up just 0.3%. Among other major carriers, Continental
Airlines (CAL) saw its Feb. traffic fall 2.1%, while AMR's (AMR) American
Airlines' traffic slipped 4.6% and Alaska Airlines' (ALK) was flat. (SON)
11:18 (Dow Jones) Merrill cuts Adobe (ADBE) 1Q view to 27c a share from 29c,
and FY01 estimate to $1.21 a share from $1.29. Cuts price target to $60 from
$78, but says it remains committed to Adobe long-term, given product breadth
and leading market share, strategy, technology and market drivers and
overall execution. Shares flat at $27.50. (TG)
11:05 (Dow Jones) Xoma Ltd. (XOMA) shares rose on the strong showing its
investigational psoriasis treatment made at a key medical meeting. The data
led investors to believe Xoma and its collaborator, Genentech Inc. (DNA),
could have a blockbuster on their hands with Xanelim. Shares rose 10.3%.
(BMM)
10:58 (Dow Jones) Reinsurer RenaissanceRe (RNR) is off $1.20 at $73.40
despite saying it remains comfortable with 1Q views of $1.80 a share, even
with some exposure to the Northwest earthquake. One investor is probably
watching the stock movement very closely: United States Fidelity & Guaranty
Co., a unit of St. Paul Cos. (SPC) that plans to sell nearly 1.6 million
shares of RenaissanceRe stock later this week in a secondary offering led by
Morgan Stanley. (RJH)
10:47 (Dow Jones) It's always dangerous to make these kinds of projections,
but ipo.com says that, if the current rate of IPOs continues for the rest of
the year, just 60 companies will make it to market. Last year, 441 deals
were priced. (RJH)
10:41 (Dow Jones) Investors pulled a heavy $7.3 billion from mutual funds
over three days through Thursday, as markets continued to slide, according
to TrimTabs.com. Much of the redemptions came from U.S. equity funds, with
aggressive growth hit hardest, with $2.7 billion outflows. Technology funds
saw $158 million withdrawn, heavier than in any period since early February.
TrimTabs says heavy outflows indicate that investors risk tolerance is
shrinking. (YXH)
10:32 (Dow Jones) Dell Computer (DELL) up 7%. Merrill says management very
upbeat on recent field trip, and firm says Dell positioned well to
outperform competition in this "no-demand" environment, to an even greater
extent than in good-demand environment. Strongly reiterates buy rating, with
$30 price target. (TG)
10:23 (Dow Jones) Stock index futures strong, with March S&Ps, DJIA and
Nasdaq all in plus column. Volume is light to moderate in S&Ps, with no
standout trades. "It seems like it needed a couple of days off," one S&P
trader says. Neither March DJIA nor Nasdaq appear to be the leader as all
three markets seem to work off of themselves. Cash markets higher: DJIA up
73 at 10538, Nasdaq gains 37 to 2154, and S&P 500 higher by 6 to 1240. (DMC)
10:14 (Dow Jones) Given market is only modestly oversold and price/volume
action is weak, Scott & Stringfellow's Dick Dickson says rally in stocks
here could be limited. Sees max around 10700 on DJIA, 1270 on S&P 500, and
2300 on Nasdaq. Key support at 10300 on DJIA, 1218 on S&P 500, and 2000 on
Nasdaq. Break those on closing basis and market could be in for another
5%-6% on downside, maybe more on Nasdaq, he says. (TG)
10:05 (Dow Jones) Argentine shares are soaring in New York, boosted by the
appointment of a new economy minister for the country. American Depositary
Receipts of bellwether Telecom Argentina (TEO) are up 7.6% on the Big Board,
and financial services company Grupo Galicia (GGAL) is gaining 12.6% on
Nasdaq. (AG)
10:00 (Dow Jones) New Chicago Fed economic index shows "increasing
probability" the economy is contracting. The Jan. Chicago Fed Activity Index
was at -0.55, with the more closely watched three-month average at -0.71.
This compares with +0.45 and +0.49, respectively, for Jan. '00. While Jan.
01 is an improvement over December, when monthly reading hit -0.79, Fed
economist said it's too early to say economy has bottomed. A reading below
-.70 indicates greater likelihood economy is in recession. (MEM)
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-05-01
12:22 PM
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