Stocks Sink, And It Wasn't Just A Tech Affair
Edited by Thomas Granahan
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
(Call Us: 201 938-5299; All Times Eastern)
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4:03 (Dow Jones) By now, we're almost used to 6% drops on Nasdaq. But the
selling spread dramatically into blue-chips, knocking the DJIA down by 4.5%
and the S&P 500 lower by 4.6%. Looking for gainers was essentially a futile
effort. The only bright spot may be that talk will surely pick up that this
was capitulation - again - and worst is over. There is no sign that it's
true, though, and fact that selloff extends into broader market is trouble.
Fifth worst point drop on Dow and worst since last April's 600-point
debacle. Fully half of DJIA components posted loss of 4% or more, and not
one advanced. Nasdaq closed below 2000 for frst time since Dec. 1998. DJIA
drops 438 to 10208, Nasdaq falls 128 to 1924, and S& P500 sheds 53 to 1180
(preliminary). (TG)
3:52 (Dow Jones) There are more than 80 Dow Jones industry groups. Two
-precious metals and diversified mining - are higher. (TG)
3:47 (Dow Jones) The market's not too bad...if you're a prospector. One of
the best performing is precious metals, thanks to a rise in gold prices.
Homestake Mining (HM) is up 3.7%, while Newmont Mining (NEM) 1.45% is
higher. (RJH)
3:38 (Dow Jones) June S&Ps are nearing support as the contract comes close
to the 1200 level. An off-floor trader says between 1200-1190 on weekly
charts solid support kicks in and could put a floor in for S&Ps. June Nasdaq
isn't as lucky as strong support on weekly charts doesn't show up until
1500. (DMC)
3:30 (Dow Jones) That rebound traders were mumbling about a few hours ago
has vanished, with both the DJIA and Nasdaq Comp seeing an acceleration of
selling with a half hour to go. DJIA is off 312 points, or 3%, while Nasdaq
is down 104, or 5%. (RJH)
3:23 (Dow Jones) Just three IPOs are slated to come to market this week, but
there's been a lot of activity in the market, none of it good. Five
companies have filed to withdraw their IPO filings with the SEC since Friday
afternoon. Those deals were expected to raise $613.5 million. (RJH)
3:11 (Dow Jones) Of special note in the recent market selloff is the
reaction of the Baby Boomers, says Merrill Lynch chief quantitative analyst
Richard Bernstein. "We think the next big theme in the equity markets will
be conservatism," he says. "Baby Boomers are now four or five years closer
to retirement, and many may be worse off than they were four or five years
ago, courtesy of Nasdaq." (RJH)
2:59 (Dow Jones) As the DJIA slumps to its low of the session, here are the
one-year returns of the S&P industry sectors: finance, up 36.2%, utilities,
up 46.8%, transports, up 37.7%, basic materials, up 13.7%, capital goods, up
12.7%, communication services, down 37.3%, consumer cyclicals up 6.8%,
consumer staples, up 24.1%, energy, up 18.6%, health care, up 27.5%,
technology, down 55.1%. "Would it be unreasonable to expect someone who was
unfamiliar with our market to look at these numbers and assume the last 12
months was a heck of a good year for stocks overall," asks Dick Dickson of
Scott & Stringfellow. DJIA off 310 at 10334, Nasdaq off 93 at 1959. (TG)
2:42 (Dow Jones) Shares of Keithley Instruments (KEI) dropped as much as 27%
Monday after lowering earnings and revenue estimates for the second quarter,
citing softening demand in semiconductors and lower growth expectations in
broadband sectors. The company's stock has fallen over 50% this year, and is
currently off $5.36 at $15.40. (MRA)
2:29 (Dow Jones) Bottom fishers are emerging in the options market. With
VIX, the CBOE market volatility index, jumping 29% in less than two sessions
to 34.11, more options traders are positioning themselves for any bounce
that might develop from the steep selloff. With tech stocks skidding to new
bear-market lows, bottom fishers drew new lines in the sand by selling just
out-of-the-money puts like Sun Microsystems' (SUNW) April 15 puts, and Intel
Corp.'s (INTC) March 25 puts. Besides taking advantage of the high premiums,
these investors are betting that these stocks won't fall below those levels
in the short term. (KXT)
2:25 (Dow Jones) Morgan Stanley says Engelhard's (EC) earnings growth rate
seems sustainable. Bumps up price target to $35 from $30, and keeps 2001 EPS
view of $1.80 but sees upside potential. Stock down 35c at $26.35. (TG)
2:13 (Dow Jones) It may be a bit of a stretch today, but if the DJIA makes
another run to 10300, it has to hold. Meanwhile, there is no change on the
horizon in tech/biotech, says Gary Kaltbaum, of First Union Securities
Financial Network. His favorite sectors right now: aerospace/defense,
aluminum, auto parts, autos, chemicals, metals (gold and silver), oil and
gas, pollution control, railroads, restaurants, retailers (dept. stores and
drug stores) and tobacco. (TG)
1:57 (Dow Jones) June S&Ps fall to limit down, off 32 points. The market
touched that level earlier, but never locked. Floor traders say any rallies
are short covering as quality buying has not materialized. Support earlier
came from the semiconductor index turning up, but that, too, has turned
negative again. (DMC)
1:45 (Dow Jones) Remember all the heat the technicians took months ago when
they said 1800 was a reasonable target on the Nasdaq Composite. "Can't
happen," some said. "No time for that right now, I have to hurry up and buy
my favorite stock that trades at 3600 times 2008 sales," others said (or
something like that.) Well, now it appears to some technicians that their
calls were overly optimistic. A case can be made, as it was by Dow Jones'
technical analyst Stephen Cox in a story earlier, that support on Nasdaq is
now pointed at around 1450. (TG)
1:31 (Dow Jones) Nymex crude pops 17 cents a barrel higher after Saudi Oil
Minister says Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Venezuela support "importance of OPEC
cut" and reaffirms commitment to $25 price target for OPEC basket. April
crude up 17c at $28.18; May crude up 7c at $28.35. (MXF)
1:19 (Dow Jones) Greenspan will be a guest lecturer at Al Gore's Columbia
School of Journalism class on March 21, according to Washington Post, which
says Fed chief will discuss how the media cover financial markets. (We'll
keep it off the record, of course.) (JC)
1:14 (Dow Jones) Some top stock traders shift as the market slides. John
Manahan has left as head of stock trading at Brown Brothers Harriman. He may
retire from the business or take another position, one of his colleagues
said. No replacement named yet, the colleague added. Brian Conroy leaves as
a chief trader at JP Morgan Chase to become head of Americas trading at ABN
Amro. (KJT)
1:05 (Dow Jones) Another sign the Internet boom is long gone: The Nasdaq
composite is now below the level it was at when analyst Henry Blodget issued
his (in)famous $400 price target on Amazon.com (AMZN), one of the milestones
in the market's climb. The Nasdaq has been as low as 1944 today and is
currently around 1966; the lowest it got on Dec. 16, 1998, the day of
Blodget's call, was 1996. Meanwhile, Amazon itself, which hit Blodget's
target within weeks of his prediction, now trades around $11 - down 90% from
its December 1999 split-adjusted all-time high. (MRR)
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-12-01
04:03 PM
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