RECAP & STOCKS TO WATCH FOR WEDNESDAY, 3-7-01
For the 2nd day in a row, the market got more warnings from the chip sector, this time from Xilinx (XLNX), Varian Semiconductor (VSEA), and TriQuint Semi (TQNT), and for the 2nd day in a row, the Semiconductor Index (SOX) shrugged off the bad news and surged 7.4 %. Buying interest spilled over into the other tech sectors, most noticeably in the hardware, Internet, and software shares, which gained some buoyancy after Veritas Software told analysts during its mid-quarter call that it’s comfortable with Wall Street estimates going forward.
The Nasdaq Composite gained another 61 points, after being up as much as 101 points, to close at 2,204. Volume came in at 1.97 billion shares, with advancers beating decliners by 23 to 14. Blue chips followed the techs as the Dow gained 28 points to finish at 10,591. Volume on the Big Board was 1.03 billion shares with advancers beating decliners by 3 to 2.
From a technical standpoint, the Nasdaq Composite has formed a gravestone doji pattern on top of a gap opening from Tuesday morning, indicating a possible reversal for Wednesday. The Nasdaq needs to break resistance at 2,300 for any type of follow-through rally, otherwise a lower high will have been put in. The Dow bounced off resistance at 10,700, the top of its trading range, and formed a gravestone doji pattern as well. The Semiconductor Index (SOX) tested the tough resistance congestion area between 622-650, and closed just under 650.
Morgan Stanley Semiconductor and Systems Conference: The following companies are scheduled to make presentations on the 3rd day of this 3-day conference: QCOM, MU, XLNX, NVDA, BRCM, SLR, JBL, PALM, JDSU, HAND.
JDS Uniphase (JDSU): Company warned for Q3 and Q4. For Q3, company is seeing EPS of $0.14 and revenues of $925 mln vs. current EPS estimate of $0.17 and revenue expectations in the $975 mln area. For Q4, company is seeing EPS of approximately $0.14 vs. the current consensus mean of $0.17. Companies that could be affected by this warning include CIEN, MRVC, ADCT, and AFCI.
Palm Inc (PALM): Company announced the acquisition of Extended Systems (XTND) for $22/share in PALM stock, valuing Extended Systems at approximately $264 mln. |
