U.S. Stock Market Watch

[King Shrek]

http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/07/mark...york/index.htm
http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/06/mark...york/index.htm

The U.S. Stock Market has been up 2 days in a row. Let's hope it stays that way. Though we must realize there will be some down days, but hopefully the up days will overwhelm the down days.

IMHO President Bush seems to be doing all he can to stimulate the economy back to life again. I praise him for his effort. We have gotten a tax cut passed, an economic stimulus package, a corporate reform bill, and just yesterday Mr. Bush signed an open trade bill. IMO, even if the economy does continue to fail, you can't blame Bush for not trying.

Apple, Motorola, and IBM have been up these past two days as well. Apple is now up over $15.00! Woohoo!

Let's use this thread to keep an eye on the stock market and have discussions about it. Here is a link to CNN's moneyline homepage:

http://money.cnn.com/

[xaqintosh]

this is good news
I don't have any stocks at the moment, but I'd like to get some.

[tk4two1]

I almost bought Apple stocks about 3 or 4 years ago right before the iMac came out. You know when Apple stock was about $4.00 a share.

*kicking himself*

[King Shrek]

http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/08/mark...york/index.htm

Dow: 3 days, up 668 points
A financial stock rally propels blue-chip indicator toward a winning week.
August 8, 2002: 4:49 PM EDT
By Jake Ulick, CNN/Money Staff Writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Dow Jones industrial average rallied Thursday, bringing its three-day gain to more than 668 points, as investors poured into Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase after a $30 billion loan to Brazil brightened prospects for companies doing business in Latin America's biggest economy.

Strength in drug, technology and consumer products stocks powered a broad market rally linked to expectations that the Federal Reserve stands ready to cut interest rates again.

But analysts called Wednesday's gains vulnerable to the kind of selloffs that have defined the market's two-and-a-half year tumble.

"We recommend investors sell into strength because of the uncertainties lurking," Kari Bayer, senior U.S strategist at Merrill Lynch, told CNNfn's Halftime Report.

The Dow industrials surged 255.87 points, or 3 percent, to 8,712.02, in a third consecutive triple-digit advance that narrowed its year-to-date loss to 13 percent.

For the Dow, Wednesday's was its biggest three-day point gain since March 17, 2000, according to Ned Davis Research. In a last gasp of the bull market, the blue chips rose 784 points over three sessions that day.

Also up over the last three sessions, the Nasdaq rose 35.62, or 2.8 percent, to 1,316.52 and is down 33.2 percent this year. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 28.69, or 3.3 percent, to 905.46.

Analysts said the International Monetary Fund's $30 billion bailout package, which was bigger than expected, cuts the odds of an economic collapse in Brazil like the one that hit Argentina earlier this year.

J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM: up $2.34 to $26.38, Research, Estimates) and Citigroup (C: up $2.38 to $33.90, Research, Estimates), big lenders to Brazilian companies and citizens, were among the Dow's biggest gainers.

"Investors are very comfortable that the U.S will not let Brazil go the way of Argentina," said Mark Fitzgibbon, banking analyst at Sandler O'Neill. "The IMF has eased worries about Brazil's ability to pay its debt later this year."

FleetBoston Financial (FBF: up $1.71 to $23.62, Research, Estimates), with large exposure to Brazil, also advanced.

"This is a confidence booster for the markets," said Denis LaPlante, a banking analyst at Fox-Pitt Kelton. "What we're seeing is a reversal of some of the negative confidence."

Gains in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ: up $2.06 to $54.57, Research, Estimates), Procter & Gamble (PG: up $1.92 to $90.85, Research, Estimates) and IBM (IBM: up $2.44 to $71.61, Research, Estimates) also lifted the Dow.

The stock market is on track for a third straight year of losses for the first time since 1941. But Fred Sears, chief investment officer at Investor Capital Funds, said most of the market is still too expensive to merit sustained gains.

"We're very bearish," said Sears, who likes shares of State Street (STT: Research, Estimates), Taro Pharmaceutical (TARO: Research, Estimates), and Krispy Kreme Doughnut (KKD: Research, Estimates). "We think there will be rallies, but they will be short-lived."

Sears expects more corporate layoffs and calls the Dow industrials vulnerable to the kind of correction suffered by the Nasdaq, which is down 74 percent from its all-time high hit in March 2000.

Several retailers reported soft July sales numbers Thursday, including Dow component Wal-Mart Stores (WMT: up $0.81 to $49.19, Research, Estimates), the No. 1 retailer, whose sales growth slowed. Another Dow retailer, Home Depot (HD: down $1.12 to $27.14, Research, Estimates), was the indicator's biggest loser.

Only one other Dow stock fell: McDonald's (MCD: down $0.86 to $22.50, Research, Estimates). Health officials in Canada said a Canadian man died of the human strain of mad cow disease.

Palm slapped

Monsanto (MON: up $1.39 to $17.34, Research, Estimates), the maker of herbicides, is joining the Standard & Poor's 500 index. It replaces Palm (PALM: down $0.16 to $0.82, Research, Estimates), the maker of handheld computers, whose shares have tumbled to under $1 from $100 two years ago.

New economic data showed that wholesale prices fell in July as businesses facing slackening demand cut the costs of goods. The government's Producer Price index slipped 0.2 percent last month, led by a slide in auto prices. Economists expected a slight gain.

Separately, the Labor Department said the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 15,000 to 376,000 last week.

Overseas, Asia's markets edged lower while Europe's markets rose. The dollar rose against the euro and yen. Treasury securities slipped while crude oil futures were little changed.

More stocks rose than fell. Advancing issues on the New York Stock Exchange topped declining ones more than 2-to-1 as 1.6 billion shares traded. Nasdaq winners topped losers nearly 10-to-7 as 1.5 billion shares traded.

Next week brings two big market events. Federal Reserve policy makers meeting Tuesday are expected to leave short-term lending rates unchanged at 40-year lows. But central bankers, facing a string of weak economic data, may signal that lower rates lie ahead, a development that's generally good for stocks.

Wednesday marks the deadline for 947 company executives to sign off on the accuracy of their financial statements. Click here to see which companies have already done so.

Apple stock is up $0.27, IBM went up $2.44, and Motorola went up a staggering $0.80!!! This is not normal for Motorola, I think; makes you wonder if some new chips are on the way.

[JetwingX]

lets hope it don't fall

[King Shrek]

http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/09/mark...york/index.htm

Mixed Day, Winning Week
Stocks end strong week little changed on the day; major indexes all rise for first time in 3 months.
August 9, 2002: 4:09 PM EDT
By Alexandra Twin, CNN/Money Staff Writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks finished out a strong week little changed Friday, with the major indexes all showing weekly gains for the first time since May and the Dow industrials seeing its biggest one-week percentage gain since late September.

A strong rally that began Tuesday and lasted through Thursday largely overshadowed any losses incurred during Monday's big selloff, with the Dow industrials seeing its first four-session winning streak since late January.

According to preliminary reports, the Dow was up 33.16 at 8,745.18; it was down as much as 146 points earlier in the session but moved closer to breakeven around midday. The Nasdaq composite lost 10.44 to close at 1,306.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 2.94 to end the day at 908.01.

In corporate news, data storage equipment maker Emulex (ELX: down $8.34 to $15.27, Research, Estimates) warned late Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter and fiscal-year sales will come in lower than expected. The news knocked sector mates QLogic (QLGC: down $3.42 to $35.90, Research, Estimates) and Brocade Communications (BRCD: down $1.92 to $15.36, Research, Estimates) sharply lower.

But shares of electronics chain retailer Best Buy (BBY: up $1.71 to $21.26, Research, Estimates) bounced higher Friday, boosting the New York Stock Exchange, after hitting a new 52-week low Thursday after it cut its profit outlook.

Another factor in trade: speculation regarding how the Federal Reserve will act when it meets for its rate-setting policy meeting next week.

Long-term treasury prices rose, pushing the 10-year note yield down to 4.27 percent. The dollar fell against the euro and yen. Light crude oil futures rose 17 cents to $26.84 a barrel. Gold rallied $3.90 to $316.10 an ounce.

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by more than 8-to-7 as 990 million shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers by nearly 6-to-5 as 1.06 billion shares traded.

Here's a look at market action late in the session.

Concord EFS slides
Shares of Concord EFS (CEFT: down $0.47 to $16.40, Research, Estimates) were unusually active, slumping more than 10 percent following Thursday's decline on rumors of a Securities and Exchange Commission probe. The electronic payment service provider announced Friday that it will liquidate investments in two hedge funds in response to investor concerns, but the news had little impact on the stock selling.

Although it no longer trades, troubled telecom WorldCom still has an impact on investor confidence, as a reminder of the corporate scandals that have plagued markets for months. In the latest revelation, that the bankrupt long-distance phone service provider found another $3.3 billion in accounting irregularities, bringing the total to $7.1 billion.

"I think the market is performing fine. We're due for a little rest and that's what you're seeing. We've had some nice days, but the volume is light, the dollar is a little weaker, and traders don't want to hold their positions ahead of the weekend," said Peter Green, a market analyst at MKM Partners.

Fed speculation looms
Another key factor in market activity Friday and throughout the week has been speculation about whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates when it meets next week. After cutting rates 11 times in 2001, the overnight bank lending rate currently stands at 1.75 percent.

The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post both ran pieces Friday saying the Fed is unlikely to cut rates. The story in the Post was by respected Fed watcher John Berry; however, he claimed no inside sources.

While most firms that deal directly with the Fed expect rates to hold steady, two Morgan Stanley economists issued a note Friday saying they expect the Fed to cut by one-half percentage point, bringing the overnight bank lending rate down to 1.25 percent. The firm cited the sharp stock deterioration of the last two months and the impact of corporate governance concerns.

In the day's economic news, the Labor Department said that U.S. productivity, which measures worker output per hour, rose at a 1.1 percent annual rate in the second quarter after growing at a revised 8.6 percent annual rate in the first. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected growth of 0.7 percent.

"I think the action we're seeing is constructive. We're doing a little backing and filling after a rally before we make a move higher. You're also hitting against some key technical levels here," said John Hughes, market analyst at Shields & Co. "There's not a huge rally building now, but we've seen a little pattern in the past few weeks of rally, scale back, and then continue, and we may see that again."

In the meantime, Apple stock has dropped $0.30 (-1.96%) to close at $15.00, Motorola stock is up $0.20 (+1.69%) to close at $12.00), and IBM stock is up $0.22 (+0.31%) to close at $71.83.

[chemistry_geek]

The Stock Market woes will continue with the discovered corruption along the way to corporate accountability. When the corruption is gone, investor confidence will return, and the DJIA will recover, eventually. I think it's going to take at least 2 years under "good" economic conditions, which we all know isn't happening.

[Trip]

Ok, Ok...maybe it's the fact I grew up without a father, maybe it's the fact I just never took the time to ask anybody, or maybe it's the fact I didn't care until now. But I'm turning 16 shortly and I still have no clue what stock is and how this thing works. lol, somebody want to fill me in?