MARKET TALK: Slow Burn Goes On, But Japan OK For Now
12 Mar 14:07
Edited by Thomas Granahan
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
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MARKET TALK can be found using code N/DJMT
2:06 (Dow Jones) Fitch's current credit rating of Japan's sovereign debt is
not in imminent danger of a downgrade. Reiterating the conclusions of his March
6 outlook for Japan's financial dilemma, Brian Coulton, senior director of
Fitch's sovereign ratings group, said "although unsustainable, the fiscal
problem is of a slow-burn nature."
1:52 (Dow Jones) It's tough to keep a strong market down. Blue chips have
just turned positive after their morning retreat, led, interestingly enough, by
IBM. Interesting because techs in general are not behaving well, as evidenced
by the 2.5% drop in the Nasdaq 100, 5.7% easing on the Amex Networking Index,
and 3% fall on the SOX. Alcoa, McDonald's, 3M, and P&G also lend a hand on the
Dow. "Overbought and oversold conditions can be resolved by either (time or
price), but a sign of strength is the ability of a market to not respond to an
overbought condition with weakness, but to resolve it through the decay of
time," says Lehman's Jeff deGraaf. DJIA up 9 at 10620, Nasdaq Comp off 37 at
1892, and S&P 500 drops 5 to 1162. (TG)
1:36 (Dow Jones) Robertson Stephens out with its first opinion on Blockbuster
(BBI), and it's a good one. Says company's dominant position, consistent track
record, sizable store base, and strong cash-flow generation positions
Blockbuster well for incremental revenue and growth opportunities. Says
risk/reward is favorable, and shares should be helped by strong industry trends
and good execution. Target over 12 months is $32. BBI off 1.2% at $24.13. (TG)
1:25 (Dow Jones) UBS Warburg downgrades Immunomedics (IMMU) to hold from buy
on valuation. "While we continue to remain positive on the company's lead
product, LymphoCide, we believe a lack of near-term catalysts is likelyto
limit the potential upside from current levels." The firm adds "we are
increasingly sensitive to regulatory and competitive dynamics," meaning it may
take longer to get the product to market than originally expected. UBS cuts its
price target to $22 from $28. IMMU shares are losing 7.8% to $18.24. (GS)
1:07 (Dow Jones) Lehman looks for initial unemployment claims, to be released
Thursday, to hold steady at 375,000, where they have been for the last few
weeks. Expects current account deficit to widen to $101.2B in 4Q, from $94.5B
in 3Q. Also expects business inventories to fall 0.4% in January, matching
their December decline. Non-petroleum import prices probably inched lower in
February, falling 0.1% and reversing last month's unexpected advance. (MCG)
12:54 (Dow Jones) There's some confusion in the marketplace about a new
offering from Anteon International (ANT), the defense contractor that went
public today. Talk is that the company plans a secondary sale of 2.5 million
shares after the IPO. Actually, though, that's not true. The confusion comes
from an SEC filing where the company filed to sell an additional 2.5 million
shares. But those were shares added to the actual IPO, which offered 15 million
instead of 12.5 million, as planned. Anteon's shares remain up, trading
recently up 14% at $20.60. (RJH)
12:48 (Dow Jones) Fed Governor Gramlich questions whether the economy
actually ever was in a recession. Speaking at an MBA program, he said, "From
the Fed's standpoint, we have been through something that may or may not be a
recession." Gramlich declined to explain the comment when asked about it after
the program. (MAP)
12:39 (Dow Jones) Just in case you live on the moon and weren't aware of the
reasons dissident Hewlett-Packard (HWP) board member Walter Hewlett is against
the proposed merger of H-P and Compaq Computer (CPQ), he will hold a
teleconference with investors to explain why. It's safe to assume his meeting,
after the close of trading Tuesday, will be targeted at those few investors who
haven't read the barrage of press releases and advertisements the Hewlett camp
has sent out since he announced his opposition to the merger in November. It's
also probably safe to assume H-P will have its own comments after the Hewlett
conference call. (DLF)
12:27 (Dow Jones) Six months after 9/11, Invision Technologies (INVN), which
makes bomb-detection devices like those used at airports, has seen its stock
price rise more than 1410%. It hit a 52-week high today and most recently is up
4.4% to $47.01. You'd think cautious option investors would be buying defensive
puts to protect gains, but it's the bullish calls that continue to be active,
traders note. In fact, there is even interest in calls expiring in further
months - perhaps because some investors think there is a horizon of some years
when these devices will still be in demand. Invision's March 50 calls, which
are out-of-the-money and will expire Friday, are still fairly rich and are up
55 cents to 75 cents Tuesday. (KT)
12:18 (Dow Jones) Nomura Securities has moved many of its staff back to the 2
World Financial Center office. The equity and fixed-income division, including
trading, sales and research, will be the last group to move and is expected to
be back in WFC by the end of March. All phone numbers would remain the same as
pre-Sept. 11. (JSX)
12:05 (Dow Jones) Credit Suisse First Boston Chief Executive John Mack tells
investors and reporters in London that he's certain more job cuts are coming in
the firm's investment banking division. (LC)
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-12-02
02:07 PM |
