| <Dow +26.29 at 10948.38, Nasdaq -0.83 at 2169.95, S&P +1.46 at 1255.85 : [BRIEFING.COM] In a turnaround that would make the 1969 Mets proud,i like that-max the market did a complete about face today. A significant warning from Nokia (NOK 23.26 -5.45) caused the market to sell-off this morning. The world's largest cell phone maker slashed Q2 sales growth to be "somewhat below" 10% vs its earlier estimate of 20%. This slammed not only the wireless sector, but all of tech, especially communication chips. The effect was so broad because Nokia has been seen as an oasis as it one of the few large cap tech/telecom companies where business was still strong. Adding to the melee early on were bearish comments from Goldman Sachs on the software group. On the positive side, Morgan Stanley upgraded Dell Computer (DELL 26.10 +0.84), but later Dell's president reportedly said that he sees no major computer uptick until Q4....Around mid-day, positive comments from some networking gear makers acted as catalysts to turn the Nasdaq around. Extreme Networks (EXTR 32.30 +2.33) and Foundry (FDRY 20.07 +2.24) made positive comments at a CIBC conference. Also, Nokia suppliers RF Micro (RFMD 25.80 -0.61) and Texas Instruments (TXN 34.90 -1.91) reaffirmed guidance despite Nokia's warning. These events drove most every tech sector higher. A former trader favorite was up sharply today: F5 Networks (FFIV 14.05 +2.25) was called the comeback kid by Merrill...Outside of tech, biotechs made a sharp comeback after opening well in the red on a warning from Affymetrix (AFFX 26.01 -14.94)....While cyclicals were weak, defensive groups performed well today, especially food and tobacco. Philip Morris (MO 49.10 +0.58) traded higher as its Kraft IPO prices tonight and starts trading tomorrow. The offering price has been raised to $30-$31, up from $27-$31 and is 7-8x oversubscribed....Light earnings calendar after the bell, only CMGI, LDCL, WCS....Despite the modest selling into the close (not surprising traders want to bank their intraday gains on a day like this), today's aggressive buying sets the table for a run at resistance at 2250. Consider this: the last gap down open (late May) was followed by five consecutive up days on the Nasdaq. hmm,who knows-maxDJTA -1.3%... DJUA +0.1%... SOX +0.2%... XOI +0.7%... NDX +0.3%... BTK -3.2%...> end quote. |
