From Briefing.com: Tech shares rallied on Monday but once again underperformed the broader market on light volume and no material news. The action was centered around large caps as investors decided to buy faster growing tech but sought safety in size. The Briefing.com Tech Index rose 1.4% vs. the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC 2006.48 +33.34), which gained 1.7%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX 510.48 +11.79), which climbed 2.4%. Advancers led decliners 2.4:1 with advancers gaining 3.1% and decliners losing 2.3%. There were no decliners among the 18 companies that make up the SOXX.
On Tuesday's economic calendar, the Chicago PMI (December), Consumer Confidence (December)and Existing Home Sales (November) are all scheduled for release at 10:00am ET. There are no earnings reports scheduled until the first full week in January (01/05). See the Earnings Calendar for scheduled earnings releases.
Trading is likely to remain thin and volatile into the new year. We remain moderately bullish on technology shares over the long-term and would take advantage of the volatility to buy into quality, attractively priced names / sell richly priced shares into strength as part of a rebalancing of the tech portion of the portfolio to a neutral market weight. Please visit the Story Stocks page for the latest thinking on investment opportunities across market sectors, including tech.--Ping Yu, Briefing.com
Group % Change Avg % Change Advancers Avg % Change Decliners Ratio Advancers to Decliners *P/SG Ratio: Advancers *P/SG Ratio: Decliners
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index +2.4% 2.4% -0.0% 18:1 4.2 n/a
Briefing.com Tech Index(based on a composite of over 1000 tech companies) +1.4% 3.1% -2.3% 2.4:1 1.8 1.4
Audio & Video Equipment +1.9% 3.3% -2.3% 3.5:1 0.5 0.2
Communications Equipment +1.1% 2.9% -2.7% 2.3:1 1.8 1.7
Communications Services +1.4% 2.9% -1.5% 2.1:1 1.1 1.1
Computer Services +1.2% 3.1% -2.3% 2.0:1 2.0 1.4
Computer Sys & Peripherals +0.6% 2.4% -3.5% 2.3:1 1.5 1.0
Electronic Instruments & Controls +1.4% 3.2% -2.5% 2.5:1 1.2 1.4
Scientific & Technical Instruments +0.9% 2.7% -2.2% 1.9:1 1.2 1.6
Semiconductors +2.3% 3.4% -2.0% 4.6:1 2.8 2.0
Software & Programming +1.3% 3.1% -2.4% 2.2:1 1.8 1.6
6:05PM Monday After Hours prices levels vs. 4 pm ET: After the regular session's broad-based rally - which sent the Nasdaq above the 2000 mark for the first time since January 2002 - buyers have taken a breather in the extended session. Presently, the S&P futures, at 1107, are 1 point below fair value, and the Nasdaq 100 futures, at 1470, are 3 points below fair value. Corporate news announcements have been slim to none in this quiet period between the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
On the legal front, drug giant Pfizer (PFE 34.99 -0.01) has had two encouraging announcements regarding patent challenges to its Vantin and Zoloft drugs. On December 23, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction prohibiting Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals (of India) from marketing a generic version of Pfizer's Vantin antibiotic. Furthermore, earlier this month, the US District Court of Massachusetts granted Pfizer's motion to dismiss a lawsuit by Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) challenging Pfizer's patent for its antidepressant, Zoloft. In FY02 (Dec), Zoloft generated $2.7 bln in revenues, and was the company's third largest drug.
Dow component Boeing (00 42.60 +0.60) announced that it was awarded two contracts from the Navy valued at $9.6 bln. The first is for the system design and development (SDD) of the EA-18G airborne electronic attack aircrafts, and the second is for the production of an additional 210 F/A-18 Super Hornets. This is the second multiyear contract for the Super Hornet program, which has already produced 170 of the aircraft for the Navy.
Oracle (ORCL 13.18 unch) said that on Monday, it arranged a $1.5 bln line of credit for potential use in its $7.3 bln offer to acquire PeopleSoft (PSFT 22.50 +0.03). Oracle said it signed the agreement last Wednesday with ABN Amro Bank NV, Credit Suisse First Boston, and other syndicated lenders. The company has indicated that it needs about $7.5 bln, including fees and expenses, to complete the PeopleSoft offer.
Shares of Royal Gold (RGLD 21.20 -0.21) have turned south following the mining company's announcement that it has filed a universal shelf registration statement with the SEC to register up to $300 mln of securities. Royal Gold plans to use the proceeds for the acquisition of additional projects or royalty interests, working capital, and general corporate purposes.
Tomorrow' s market is light on earnings, but heavy on economic reports. The December Chicago PMI Index, Consumer Confidence Index, and November Existing Home sales reports are slated to be released, all at 10 ET. Briefing.com's Economic Calendar provides the consensus estimates, as well as our own expectations for the data.
For complete coverage on these, and other developments, be sure to visit our Stock Market Update and Daily Sector Wrap pages. -- Heather Smith, Briefing.com
Maxtor Corp (MXO) 11.25 +0.59 : Best positioned co in disk drive industry -- TWP. 10.93 +0.27: Thomas Weisel believes that 2004 is poised to be a significant turning point for the disk drive industry. The protracted downturn in IT spending appears to be finally subsiding and the pipeline of deals related to the impending PC refresh cycle are beginning to emerge. Firm believes that Maxtor's (MXO) leading position with OEMs on the transition to 80GB drives and presence within high-growth emerging countries could yield significant operational leverage as demand increases in 2004; firm believes believe that Maxtor continues to gain share at HP, Dell, and IBM in 4Q03 and expects the company to build on this strength throughout 2004.
Altera (ALTR) 23.18 +0.64 : Motorola to integrate Altera FPGAs in new high-definition Satellite Receiver (ALTR) 22.54: Co announces that Motorola, Inc. (MOT) Broadband Communications Sector has selected Altera Cyclone FPGAs for use in the new Motorola Digital Satellite Receiver 500 family of high-definition satellite receivers.
Metrologic Inst (MTLG) 27.99 +1.26 : After the close, co announced that federal appeals court decision, which was entered on Dec 23, dismissed Symbol Tech's (SBL) appeal against MTLG for lack of jurisdiction.
Intel (INTC) 32.15 +0.79 : Smith Barney now estimates that the worldwide chip industry will grow about 20% in 2004, up from their previous est of 14% growth, due to rising unit demand, better prices, and inventory restocking by customers. Firm now anticipates about 7-8% ASP improvement vs 2-3% previously, and raises their unit forecast slightly to 12-13% vs 11-12% previously. Consequently, firm believes there is likely an upward bias to co-specific ests entering earnings season, and they continue to favor stocks with margin leverage potential such as CY, FCS, and INTC. Firm projects 2005 to be the peak absolute sales year for the current cycle, but says the YoY growth peak is expected in 2004, which should be the peak period for chip stocks.
Transmeta (TMTA) 3.51 +0.27 : AG Edwards initiated BUY. Target $5. Believes co will be able to achieve a high price/sales multiple as revs ramp sharply from their current low of $2.7 mln in the SeptQ.
Vitesse Semi (VTSS) 5.99 -0.01 : Company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Cicada Semiconductor Corp. for approx $66 mln in cash. Co expects deal to be neutral to its pro-forma EPS in first half of 2004 and be slightly accretive in second half based on approx $10 mln in 2004 Cicada revenues. The deal is anticipated to close in Q104.
finance.yahoo.com
Hey Don, I'm hoping you will be right. I just think that there are some short term warning signs that need to be noted along with some longer term ones as well.
RtS |
