MARKET TALK: 1775 Is An Area To Watch On Nasdaq Comp
03 Apr 14:50
Edited by Thomas Granahan
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
(Call Us: 201-938-5299; All Times Eastern)
MARKET TALK can be found using code N/DJMT
2:49 (Dow Jones) The Nasdaq Composite, now around 1779.50, is crowding
bounce-point support at 1775.64. If that support is taken out, the index will
be targeting 1734. The lower level is a reasonable candidate for an important
bottom. (SC)
2:46 (Dow Jones) Trading-technology provider Nyfix (NYFX) has begun releasing
volume updates for its stock-trading system, Nyfix Millennium. Gregory Smith,
an analyst at J.P. Morgan H&Q, said the 2.6 million shares Millennium executed
Monday were "below our expectations for something above 5 million shares."
Millennium followed up by executing 2.57 million shares on Tuesday. Still,
Smith said that "Monday was the lightest volume day of the year and we don't
believe that one data point is necessarily a great indicator." And Justin
Hughes of Robertson Stephens noted that day-to-day fluctuations in trading
volume should be expected. (J.P. Morgan and Robertson Stephens were among the
underwriters for a stock sale Nyfix held last year.) Nyfix shares are up 2.5%
Wednesday after falling 14.5% Tuesday. (GFC)
2:36 (Dow Jones) The AOL Time Warner (AOL) pricing was enough to bring
Treasurys back near their highs of the day, but not enough to break out of the
day's range. Two-year is sitting near its 3.55% low of the day, as is the
10-year at 5.30%. The market is still said to be bid on ongoing Mideast
concerns and tempered optimism from Fed speakers and falling stocks. But some
suggest that with AOL and CSFB deals out of the way, some profit-taking is
expected into the close. (SV)
2:20 (Dow Jones) Legg Mason says earnings quality improvement may be on the
horizon for large-cap banks, with the firm projecting stable-to-rising net
interest margins, better-than-expected mortgage banking revenue, modest
improvement in capital markets-related fees, and stringent cost-containment
efforts. Keeps strong buy on both Wachovia (WB) and Wells Fargo (WFC), with
price targets of $40 and $52, respectively. (TG)
2:05 (Dow Jones) Liberty Media (L) expects to spend roughly $1 billion to
$1.5 billion in 2002 to fund its existing investments and advances in
affiliates. In addition, the company expects to have about $1.1 billion of debt
that is required to be repaid or refinanced in 2002. Liberty plans to fund its
investing and financing activities with a combination of available cash and
short-term investments, borrowings under existing credit lines, monetization of
existing marketable securities, proceeds from the sale of assets, and the
issuance of debt and equity securities. L off 1% at $11.97. (CC)
1:47 (Dow Jones) Global electronic brokerage firm Interactive Brokers LLC
says its retail commission rate on single-stock futures will be $1.00 per
contract. IB will provide ssf routing capability to Nasdaq Liffe, OneChicago,
and Island, once the venues launch the contracts. (CMN)
1:31 (Dow Jones) Pru sees recent pressure on Ann Taylor (ANN) shares as a
real good chance to buy. Sees March comps coming in above plan, driven by
positive response to an improved merchandise offering. Margins may also be
above plan, so brokerage firm is raising its 2002 view to $2.04 from $2.02 and
2003 outlook to $2.52 from $2.50. Keeps buy rating and $50 target. ANN up 1.9%
at $40.75. (TG)
1:21 (Dow Jones) EOTT Energy Partners (EOT) shares are down 36% following the
company's announcement that it won't be able to make a cash distribution to its
limited partners. The company, which has yet to report its year-end results,
was reduced to sell by Merrill Lynch's Andrew Fairbanks. The analyst is
suspending his earnings estimates for the company because it is impossible to
predict without any public financial disclosure for the last six months.
"Clearly, the financial damage at EOTT is greater thanthe company believed
when it reduced its distribution earlier in January to 25 cents a quarter," he
said. (CCC)
1:08 (Dow Jones) Bank of New York (BK) says a sizable loan to a major
retailer - sources tell us it's Kmart (KM) - will cause 1Q nonperforming assets
to rise $45 to $65 million, according to the bank's annual report filed with
the SEC. And nonperformers, or those 90 days past due, will continue to climb
this year given ongoing "economic softness," the bank said. The soured Kmart
loan follows a $235 million special provision taken in the 4Q to jettison bad
emerging telecom loans, as well as its exposure to Enron (ENRNQ). (TAS)
12:55 (Dow Jones) Several factors are being cited for the rally in Treasurys.
First and foremost, spreading violence in the Mideast and Egypt's suspension of
some official ties with Israel is pushing a flight-to-quality. The upsizing of
AOL Time Warner's (AOL) 4-part deal to $6 billion has also helped as traders
anticipate a bigger hedge unwind later in the session. A growing slide in U.S.
stocks is also out there. (SV)
12:43 (Dow Jones) Favorable trends in consumer personal income and spending
should lead to increased advertising to attract consumers, and that should
benefit Viacom (VIA, VIAB), says A.G. Edwards analyst Michael Kupinski. Based
on his advertising recovery outlook, the analyst raised his rating to strong
buy from hold and put a price target of $58 a share on the stock, whose
widely-traded Class B shares were down 55 cents, or 1.1%, at $47.40 Wednesday.
(DDO)
12:29 (Dow Jones) If Salomon Smith Barney economist Steven Wieting's analysis
is correct, the recent talk about rising oil prices threatening economic
recovery is overblown. "The key to any impact is duration," he said. Wieting
estimates a lasting $10 a barrel increase over the firm's baseline oil price
estimate of $19.44 a barrel would only cut GDP by 0.5 percentage point a year
ahead. (CCC)
12:22 (Dow Jones) Gambling has quite a sizable numberof people under its
spell in such states as Missouri and Mississippi if Ameristar Casinos' (ASCA)
monthly gaming revenue figures are any indication. CIBC World Markets analyst
William Schmitt said revenue gains at properties in such markets as St. Charles
and Kansas City should result in Ameristar exceeding analyst William Schmitt's
1Q earnings estimate of 43 cents a share. He also raised his 2003 earnings
estimate to $1.98 from $1.90 and his 12-month price target to $37 from $30.
Ameristar's stock was down 22 cents, or 0.8%, at $25.85 Wednesday. (DDO)
12:08 (Dow Jones) A little trepidation is creeping back into the options
market, with defensive puts trading actively as stocks stay weak. At the CBOE,
the ratio of equity puts traded to calls reached 0.75 most recently, on par
with Tuesday's 0.74 and the first time since March 20 this indicator has
climbed to this level. But the index put/call ratio remains neutral at 1.33.
Volatility is also up a notch, with VIX rising 1.03 to 21.71. (KT)
11:54 (Dow Jones) With the chance of states opening new gaming jurisdictions
dwindling in the past several weeks, Merrill Lynch analyst David Anders cut his
rating on International Game Technology (IGT) to buy from strong buy. He also
lowered his 12-month target on IGT to $68 from $80. The stock was recently down
4.8% at $58.20. The potential for new gaming markets was built into
slot-machine sales growth for the company, so taking a more conservative sales
view, Anders lowered his 2002 earnings estimate to $3.30 a share from $3.40 and
his 2003 view to $3.90 from $4.00. (DDO)
11:44 (Dow Jones) The MBA purchase index, up 5.9% this week, is about 20%
higher than the level of a year ago. It suggests that "early 2002 strong
housing market indicators were no fluke and the housing turnover may reach
record levels this year," Salomon Smith Barney says. (JSX)
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 04-03-02
02:50 PM |
