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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Venkie who wrote (36986)	5/17/2001 3:54:29 PM
From: SecularBull	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

washingtonpost.com

To: Venkie who wrote (36986)	5/17/2001 5:49:26 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Investors Look To Dell For Direction Friday Thursday May 17, 5:22 pm Eastern Time Forbes.com By Mark Lewis <<Will the rate-cut rally last another day? It all depends on the market's reaction to PC bellwether Dell Computer , which posted earnings that met Wall Street's lowered expectations. That makes Dell the Forbes.com Stock To Watch for Friday. Dell late Thursday reported its revenue rose 10% to $8 billion for the firm's fiscal first quarter, which ended May 4. Dell's earnings of 17 cents per share matched the Wall Street consensus estimate as compiled by Thomson Financial/First Call but fell short of the 19 cents Dell earned a year ago. "We delivered on the revenue and profit guidance we provided at the start of the quarter," Chairman Michael Dell said in a statement. Dell shares rose 2% during Thursday's regular session and then moved a bit higher in after-hours trading after the earnings report. Then they reversed course and headed lower as investors awaited news from the company's conference call. "The key lately has been the guidance" rather than the earnings numbers, says Todd Clark, head of listed trading for W.R. Hambrecht. The conference call was scheduled for later Thursday. If investors like what they hear, that could help extend the rally that began on May 16, a day after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the fifth time this year. Stocks were slightly higher on Thursday, taking a breather after the huge gains posted the day before. Between Dell and Hewlett-Packard , the PC sector is providing the market with its dominant catalyst this week. HP soared 15.6% on Thursday after reporting fiscal second-quarter earnings of 18 cents per share, which was 3 cents above the Wall Street consensus estimate. H-P was by far the most active Big Board issue and the biggest gainer among the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average components. Hewlett-Packard's earnings were well below those of the year-ago quarter, and beating the consensus estimate wasn't much of a triumph considering the company had guided expectations sharply lower. Nevertheless, investors responded warmly to H-P's report, and to Chairwoman Carly Fiorina's comment that the consensus estimate for the current quarter is "reasonable." If Dell offers more comfort to investors on the conference call, the rate-cut rally should live for another day. If not, then Friday could be a down day.>>