To: Rainy_Day_Woman who wrote (145 ) 4/8/2002 7:35:15 PM From: Rainy_Day_Woman Read Replies (1) | Respond to Close Dow -22.56 at 10249.08, S&P +2.55 at 1125.11, Nasdaq +15.84 at 1785.87: The end result for the market averages was mixed, but considering the way that the session began, the overall performance was impressive. The market was in position for a lower open due to the report that Iraq was suspending oil exports for a month, which produced a spike in oil prices in London trading. The already negative bias turned downright ugly after IBM (-10%) issued a profit warning for Q1. The company now expects EPS of $0.66-$0.70 vs the First Call consensus of $0.85, citing a very tough business environment with across-the-board weakness in revenues, particularly in OEM tech business. The impact was felt market-wide with all the major averages and sectors (except for energy) posting losses in early trade. However, the ability of IBM and the market averages to stabilize over the first hour, the fact that volume was on the lighter side despite the substantial drop, and the possibility that this was a shake-out day after seeing the averages on the defensive for most of the last month emboldened some participants to do a little bargain hunting in several tech sectors (software, Internet, semiconductor). Also providing some leadership early on was the retail sector with Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY +5.6%), Kenneth Cole (KCP +24.6% on raised guidance), Linen N Things (LIN +4.3% on an upgrade from CSFB), and JC Penney (JCP +6%) being the top performers. As far as the Dow is concerned, stocks that helped to offset the 67 points of pressure applied by IBM were: MSFT +2.4%, UTX 1.5%, KO +1.5%, HD +1.5%, XOM +1.4% and BA +1.4%. The volume total for the day was modest with market internals positive by roughly a 5 to 4 margin.DJTA -0.9%, DJUA +0.2%, DOT +2.4%, Nasdaq 100 +1.1%, Russell 2000 +1%, SOX +0.5%, S&P Midcap 400 +1.1%, XOI +1.4%, NYSE Adv/Dec 1834/1332, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1908/1647
