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Strategies & Market Trends : Technical analysis for shorts & longs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (40102)	8/21/2003 11:45:46 AM
From: Johnny Canuck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 69233

10:06AM RBC ups oil service stocks on strong int'l markets (OIH, SLB, BHI, BHI, ESV, RDC) by Tomi Kilgore NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Analyst Kurt Hallead at RBC Capital Markets upgraded several oil service sector stocks, due primarily to strength in international markets. Premium jackup rig and Canadian land drilling markets are also exhibiting pockets of strength. Among the stocks Hallead upgraded, Baker Hughes (BHI) rose 31 cents to $34.12, Schlumberger (SLB) tacked on 61 cents to $49.50, Ensco (ESV) gained 44 cents to $27.65, Rowan (RDC) rose 64 cents to $24.83 and Smith International (SII) hiked up 59 cents to $49.48. The Merrill Lynch Oil Services Holdrs (OIH) was up 59 cents, or 1 percent, at a one-month high of $60.55. 10:04AM Gold prices, metals shares ease back ($XAU, GG) by Myra P. Saefong SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Gold futures, as well as metals shares, are trading lower after a two-session winning streak, but analysts remained upbeat about gold's investment prospects. December gold is down $1.40 at $365.60 an ounce. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index ($XAU) is down 1.1 percent, with shares of Goldcorp (GG) leading the decline, down 2.1 percent at $13.20. 10:02AM UBS ups 3M's price target, sending shares higher (MMM) by Julie Rannazzisi NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- UBS hoisted its price target on Dow component 3M (MMM) to $170 from $160 to $170, citing increased confidence in earnings growth trends. UBS pegs near-term earnings growth potential for 3M at 15 percent and expects earnings to grow 13 percent over the longer term. The stock rose 0.6 percent to $144.75 in recent trades. 9:52AM Pfizer shares off 3% after downgrade (PFE, $DRG) by Ted Griffith BOSTON (CBS.MW) -- Pharmaceutical stocks were on the decline in early trading Thursday, with shares of Pfizer (PFE) losing 3 percent after an analyst raised the specter of generic competition to the company's top drug. Pfizer shares shed 90 cents to $29.84. Analyst George Grofik at Smith Barney cut his rating on Pfizer shares to "in line," citing concerns about the potential for a generic rival to the company's Lipitor, a cholesterol medication and the top-selling prescription drug in the world. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG) dipped 0.7 percent to 305.02. 9:53AM Financial stocks post modest gains early ($XBD, $BKX) by Greg Morcroft NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- U.S. financial stocks posted modest early gains Thursday after government data indicated layoffs are slowing. The AMEX Securities Broker/Dealer Index ($XBD) rose 0.4 percent and the Philadelphia Bank Sector Index ($BKX) added 0.4 percent. The number of workers filing for state unemployment benefits remained under the key 400,000 level again last week, the Labor Department reported. 9:46AM Airline stocks open session in positive territory ($XAL, AMR, AAI, JBLU) by August Cole SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Airline stocks extended their gains on Thursday as the Amex Airline Index ($XAL) rose 1.9 percent to 55.54. among the most active stocks in early action, AMR Corp. (AMR), AirTran (AAI) and JetBlue (JBLU) advanced. 9:46AM Bridgewater says housing market has reached its top ($TNX) by Tomi Kilgore NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Money manager and research firm Bridgewater Associates believes the housing market has reached its top, as it estimates that the payments on a typical new home are now 14 percent higher than they were 3 months ago amid a rise in long-term interest rates. "For most people interested in buying a new home, the price of the house is largely irrelevant; the important question is whether they can afford the payments," Bridgewater said in a note to clients. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ($TNX) was last up 0.043 percentage points at 4.484 percent, up from 3.35 percent at the end of May, and up from the five-decade low of 3.074 percent hit on June 16. The firm estimates that the drop in home affordability will translate roughly into a 10 percent decline in nominal housing activity, with volumes and prices both falling.