From Briefing.com: 10:46AM Sector Watch: Semiconductor : Disappointing action thus far as the sector weakens after a mildly positive start (see 06:48 Barron's comment). Pacing the way are: MOT -2.1%, XLNX -2.3%, INTC -1.8%, RMBS -1.6%, and NSM -1.6%. Index (SOX at 516) has pushed to lowest level in a month with next support near 515 followed by a strong floor at 506 (Dec low/38% of Sep/Jan rally). Given that index has slumped 14.8% over the last eight sessions traders will be watching for signs of at least temporary bounce off supports. Initial resistance is at 520/521.
12:00PM : Mid-Day Summary: It has been a busy day on the news front. Kmart (KM) filed for Chap. 11 bankruptcy, Tyco (TYC 48.46 +2.01) says it will break into four companies and a couple of beaten down tech stocks guided higher: Lucent (LU 6.83 +0.14) and Amazon (AMZN 12.28 +2.12). It was mostly good news in the pre-market causing the market to gap higher, but many stocks are falling over, especially techs. There has been no single reason for the Nasdaq intraday slide, but semiconductors and semi equipment are weak. The latter is under pressure ahead of December book-to-bill data due out after the bell. Intel's recent decision to cut cap-ex spending may prompt others to do the same. Also, a negative Barron's article is affecting the group....On the positive side, Wal-Mart (WMT 58.28 +1.93) gets an upgrade from Bernstein. Retailers are ignoring the Kmart news and are trading higher. Also, Merrill Lynch upgrades Reebok (RBK 28.46 +1.15)...Homebuilders are strong thanks to a great quarter as D.R. Horton (DHI 32.12 +0.90)....Overnight, the yen plunged to a 3-yr low against the dollar....
The Nasdaq has been sliding all morning, after a gap higher at the open. A rebound in the index will be tough without help from the SOX Index, but with Dec book-to-bill data looming, we do not expect traders to step in here. SOX -2.7%, NYSE Adv/Dec 1513/1444, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1381/1952
11:25AM : The selling in the Nasdaq is not letting up, a big part of which is weakness in the Semi Index (SOX 512.11 -10.93) on some cautious comments from analysts. Also weighing on the index are semi equipment stocks ahead of the book-to-bill data after the bell. Intel (INTC 32.69 -0.79) recently lowered its cap-ex budget more than expected prompting fears that other semiconductor companies will do the same. A rebound in the Nasdaq will be tough without help from the SOX, but ahead of data, traders likely to be cautious....Homebuilders are doing well as DR Horton (DHI 32.16 +0.94) beat estimates...
Cypress Semi (CY 18.73 -0.96) is weak ahead of its earnings report on Thursday. Merrill Lynch says checks indicate bookings for Q1 (Mar) are extremely low and that company entered Q1 with less than 50% of Merrill's $190 mln revenue. Comm IC stocks are the worst performers in the sector, such as BRCM -5% (cautious note from USB Piper Jaffray analyst Ashok Kumar) Genesis Micro (GNSS 60.01 -6.17) getting hit hardest, but we're not seeing news.NYSE Adv/Dec 1522/1349, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1404/1788
stockcharts.com[h,a]daclyyay[pb50,200!d20,2][vc60][iUb14!La12,26,9]
That is a good chart. I guess my Bollinger Bands only showed up for me? 506 seems to be the number to watch according to Briefing.com. I have to believe these guys are much better chart readers than I am.
finance.yahoo.com
Thanks, RtS |
