Paul Shread

Another day with support under pressure. This time it was the S&P (first chart below) that gave up a big level, while the Nasdaq (second chart) threatened major support before recovering to barely hold on. The S&P joins the Dow (third chart) as another index slipping into a wide support zone. The first levels to […]

Stocks were once again on the defensive Thursday, as investors braced for what could be the worst U.S. jobs report in years. Economists estimate on average that the U.S. economy lost 150,000 jobs in September due to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but the estimates range from roughly break-even to job losses of more than 300,000, […]

A little more than a year after acquiring Snap Appliance for $100 million, Adaptec has announced plans to divest its storage systems business to focus on software and serial storage technologies. “Our management team has been conducting a very thorough analysis of all of Adaptec’s businesses and operations,” said Scott Mercer, interim CEO of Adaptec, […]

A lot of technical damage today — but one potential positive. The 90.6% downside volume on the NYSE could be enough for at least a temporary washout — strong rallies can follow such “90% downside days.” Paul Desmond of Lowry’s Reports, who pioneered the study of such selling climaxes, told us he has been looking […]

Stocks plunged Wednesday after more inflation warnings from Federal Reserve officials unnerved investors. Three more Federal Reserve Bank presidents echoed Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher’s suggestion Tuesday that the Fed plans to continue to raise interest rates to fight inflation. Coupled with a report showing a slowing service sector with rising prices, the result was […]

Stocks tumbled Tuesday on earnings warnings from the likes of Lexmark and inflation warnings from a key Federal Reserve official. Shares of Lexmark plunged 28.6% after the company warned that its third-quarter earnings will come in more than 50% lower than the $1.02 analysts were looking for. The company warned for the fourth quarter too, […]

The indexes stopped in no-man’s land today, halted by nothing more than short-term overbought conditions. The Nasdaq (first chart below) cleared 2155 and 2160 resistance and fell back before testing its main downtrend line at 2170. Support is 2154, 2150, 2138-2142 and 2129-2133. The Dow (second chart) has resistance at 10,550, 10,600-10,608, 10,640-10,660 and 10,680, […]

A gain in chip stocks helped the Nasdaq eke out a small gain Monday, but the broader market slipped after a strong manufacturing report raised fears of more Fed rate hikes. The chip sector rose 0.6% after the Semiconductor Industry Association reported that chip sales rose 3.2% from July to August to $18.6 billion, driven […]

Imation hopes to make it easier for storage users to get into disk backup with a new disk cartridge that fits into standard tape libraries. Imation’s new Ulysses technology is a Serial ATA (SATA) 2.5-inch disk drive in an LTO Ultrium cartridge form factor. Used with the Ulysses tape drive emulator, the removable media accelerates […]

It was tough going at times, but stocks had their best September — historically the worst month for stocks — since 1998. The Dow had only its ninth positive September in the last 35 years. Here’s hoping that’s a good omen for the rest of the year. The indexes continued to build on their gains […]

Much better than expected results from memory chip maker Micron Technology helped the Nasdaq end the third quarter on a high note Friday. Micron jumped 9% after posting a surprise quarterly profit, sending the chip sector to a 2% gain on the day. Micron reported strong sales across its DRAM, CMOS and flash memory lines, […]

A nice start for the bulls today, but the toughest levels still lie ahead. The Nasdaq (first chart below) faces tough resistance at 2156-2160 and 2170, and support is 2133, 2128 and 2110. The Dow (second chart) has support at 10,538, 10,520 and 10,500, and resistance is 10,580, 10,640 and 10,690-10,720. The S&P (third chart) […]