What Is The Market Doing?

NYSE ^ | 10/3/01 | Myself

[2Jedismom]

I learn so much from hearing what the knowledgable people here at FR have to say about what the market is doing, I wanted to set up this thread to hear your discussions.

Please post your thoughts and bump this to others who might have information to share. It is interesting to hear what people are buying and why.

[joyce11111]

I have Intel, Cisco and Amazon...all went UP today!!!!

[Constitution Day]

salon.com at 16 cents a share and going down

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[hispanarepublicana]

Just some scuttlebutt that might affect the market: Congress adjourns in a little while to go into a "members-only classified briefing" with representatives from the State Department, Defense Department, and Joint Chiefs Of Staff .

[2Jedismom]

LOL, that is so funny!

[Paradox]

Not too shabby at the moment:

[ken5050]

The penultimate breath of "irrational exuberence"...market moved up last week, becuase of lots of portfolio adjusting for the 3rd quarter..."window dressing"..by the large institutional holders.....and lost of covering by short sellers...so this week, the little guys climbed aboard, and you're seeing selling into a little buying strength..i'll be over byb the end of the week......folks have tonbe finally disabused of the idea that buying on the dips always makes you money.....this time it won't.....then the towels get thrown in......look for S&P at 875...DOW at 6500, and NASDAQ at 1100...then we can get back to reasonable valuations.....

[2Jedismom]

Wow, thanks for the heads-up. Almost 11pm in Kabul.

[2Jedismom]

Thanks for the graphics!

[Mike K]

Maybe those who bit on the "buy stock it's patriotic" story can get out with their shirts this week.

[2Jedismom]

Last time I looked the DJ was at 1099.

[HEFFERNAN2]

I didn't receive a response from your request. Was the info I sent you of any help? Semper Fi, Mike

[2Jedismom]

Yes, thank you! I enjoyed reading the articles. I like the nyse.com site because it reloads automaticaly, but here's an article I got from cnbc.

CNBC Market Dispatches 10/03/01 12:27 PM ET

Bits of good news lift stocks

The earnings news isn't good, but some encouraging comments and economic news have the market headed higher today.

Stocks are headed higher at midday after an opening dip, with the Dow gaining almost three digits and the Nasdaq pushing past 1,500 for the first time in a week.

The stream of bad news on earnings continues to take a toll, with investors punishing Ford (F, news, msgs), Eli Lilly (LLY, news, msgs) and Nortel Networks (NT, news, msgs), among others.

But investors are also rewarding companies that offer hope for the economy, even while warning. One example: Homebuilder Lennar (LEN, news, msgs) reports that new-home orders are down 22% but notes, "nevertheless, we were encouraged to see that consumers returned to the market and sales rebounded by the end of September." The stock is up 5% today.

"We’ve seen some encouraging comments from a number of companies," says CNBC's Bob Pisani.

The bad news was also muted by a relatively good number from the National Association of Purchasing Management. The industry group’s monthly non-manufacturing index rose to 50.2 in September, indicating slight growth in the service sector after a two-month decline.

Software stocks are leading the Nasdaq up today, with Kronos (KRON, news, msgs) up 24% after guiding financial numbers higher -- a rarity these days. Interwoven (IWOV, news, msgs) was up 38% after a mild earnings warning that led USB Piper Jaffray to upgrade the stock to "buy.”

All told, some of the gloom may be lifting. Since dropping about 15% after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the Dow and Nasdaq have made up substantial ground. The Nasdaq is now down less than 10% and the Dow about 6%.

Earnings news ups and downs

The market seems of two minds today when it comes to profit warnings. Companies like Nortel Networks and Eli Lilly were punished for bad numbers, but others were being rewarded despite them.

Tiffany (TIF, news, msgs) cut its profit outlook for 2001 this morning and saw its stock rise almost 9%. Williams-Sonoma (WSM, news, msgs) -- that's Pottery Barn, Hold Everything, Chambers and Bed + Bath -- cut its sales numbers but said it still expects to meet earnings forecasts. The company's stock rose 17%.

Does that mean retailers can report safely? Well, consider this: Discounter Family Dollar Stores (FDO, news, msgs) reported a 12.5% rise in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, in line with Wall Street's estimates, and saw its stock fall 3%.

Reactions in tech stocks seem just as conflicted. Interwoven (IWOV, news, msgs), whose software manages Web content, lowered its third-quarter revenue expectations Tuesday night. On Wednesday, its shares spiked, rising 31%.

But investors punished Openwave Systems (OPWV, news, msgs) and Digital Lightwave (DIGL, news, msgs) after they warned, dropping them 32% and 43% respectively.

But here's one clue: While most companies warning today cite the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as part of the reason for their slowdown, investors do seem to reward those that can show the slowdown is going to be temporary. One example: Priceline.com (PCLN, news, msgs), which lowered expectations after the attacks, is up some 17% today after reporting that its business is recovering quickly. Travelocity.com (TVLY, news, msgs) was up 11% in sympathy, despite a gloomy analyst report.

One related note: Winnebago Industries (WGO, news, msgs) , which makes those rolling houses, today said its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose sharply thanks to new products and lower interest rates. Shares rose some 16%.

So while investors aren't sure about software, we do seem certain Americans will travel again despite the attacks. But instead of flying, maybe we'll hit the road in style.

Vote of confidence

Call it pride or say he's prejudiced, but Michael Dell is pretty big on Dell Computer (DELL, news, msgs) .

An SEC filing notes that he bought 4.3 million shares of his company between Sept. 20 and Sept. 27 for just under $72 million.

-- Ron Prichard

[careyb]

I bought $5k worth of an S&P 500 index fund when the market was around 8500.

Now you know why.

I say jump in - the water's still fine.

Take a look at Bell South (BLS). Dropping like a rock today because of the Nortel warning but it should bounce back.

Buy something that people hate right now but has good long term potential. You'll win almost every time.

[2Jedismom]

I have a few shares of HRL. They bounced around but didn't do too bad.

[2Jedismom]

How did the day end up?

[OK]

IMHO it is a bear trap. Some halfway good news came out today and the market went up. We have many earnings reports due out over the next couple of weeks. Those results will tell the story.

It is kind of remarkable that the market goes up on the day the White House acknowledged that we are in a recession. Could it be the Plunge Protection Team in action?