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Strategies & Market Trends : Z Best Place to Talk Stocks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Larry S. who wrote (49746)	11/8/2003 3:56:15 PM
From: Ron McKinnon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 53068

The Big Picture Monday, November 10, 2003 Market Surrenders Gains, But Ends Week Firm Again BY DAVID SAITO-CHUNG INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY A late afternoon sell-off wiped out the market's modest gains Friday. But the soft decline left hardly a blemish on a strong week for stocks. Investors bid up prices at the open on more news of an improving U.S. job market. Nonfarm payrolls in October increased by 126,000, far better than economists' consensus projection for a gain of 55,000. The country's unemployment rate inched lower to 6% from 6.1%. The Nasdaq popped up 0.5% in the first minute of trade. Within 10 minutes, it was up 0.8%. But the tech-dominated index failed to gain further ground. By around 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, it had given up nearly all its gains. A timid afternoon rally soon lost traction, and the Nasdaq ended down 0.3%, near its session low. Still, Friday's trade was housed in a relatively narrow range. It's common to see investors sell stocks and nab profits ahead of the weekend. But overall, the deep-pocketed institutions didn't appear to sell with much resolve. Volume receded on the Nasdaq by nearly 9% to 1.97 billion shares. The S&P 500 and Dow both lost 0.5%. Small caps held up the best, with the S&P 600 index up three-hundredths of a point. NYSE turnover edged slightly lower. Despite Friday's reversal, it was still a good week for the market. For the week, the Nasdaq gained 2%, the S&P 600 2.6%. In contrast, the Dow rose less than 9 points for the week, or less than a 0.1% advance. The S&P 500 inched up 0.2%. Friday's strong jobs report didn't come as much of a surprise. Since the positive September jobs report back on Oct. 3, the Nasdaq has climbed nearly 5%. In this light, Friday's pullback on lighter volume looks normal in an upward trending market. A fair number of industries scored big gains last week. Chipmakers, ranked No. 1 among 197 IBD groups, gained nearly 7% for the week. Second-ranked contract electronics firms and wireless telecom gear makers, No. 5, both advanced nearly 8%. Home builders got roughed up Friday on a valuation downgrade by CS First Boston. Seventeen stocks in the sector dropped 3% or more on heavy volume. Orleans Homebuilders (OHB) slumped 4.40 to 29.70 on the heaviest volume since its breakout 5 1/2 weeks ago. Given that these stocks are still well extended above their proper buy points, it would be unwise to try to buy any of them on the dips.