Paul Shread

Oracle met analysts’ estimates after the close on Thursday with pro forma earnings of 14 cents a share, but revenues of $2.91 billion were just shy of forecasts. Oracle’s software license revenues — an important indicator of future growth — came in at $629 million, below $694 million expectations. “This quarter delivered exceptionally strong applications […]

With the S&P (first chart below) breaking down, the best hope for the bulls becomes the Nasdaq and Dow (second and third charts). The Nasdaq has major support at 2100-2106, with 2078 below that, and the Dow has major support at 10,332-10,349. If those levels hold, the market correction could be complete. On the plus […]

Stocks tumbled for the third straight day Wednesday on fear of rising interest rates and oil prices, as the fiercest hurricane in decades appeared headed for the Texas Gulf Coast. Just a day after the Federal Reserve said it expects Hurricane Katrina to have only a temporary effect on the economy, Hurricane Rita was upgraded […]

The one bright spot today was that fear among options traders picked up; it was otherwise a day of broken support levels for the bulls. The Nasdaq (first chart below) continues to lead the way lower, with the major support level of 2106-2112 a possible target for the techs. Resistance is 2139-2140, 2155 and 2161. […]

Stocks fell once again Tuesday on rising interest rates and oil prices, but a handful of tech stocks escaped the carnage on upgrades. Red Hat surged 4.7% after Prudential said it expects strong results from the Linux vendor when it reports quarterly results next week. It was the second upgrade in two days for Red […]

ONStor and 3PAR have teamed on a new unified storage offering that the companies say tops Network Appliance in performance, scalability and manageability. The new UtiliCat offers enterprise-class consolidated SAN and NAS services through the combination of ONStor’s Enterprise NAS Gateway solutions and 3PAR’s Utility Storage technology. Unlike other unified storage approaches that require customers […]

Stocks spent Monday on the defensive on fears of higher oil prices and interest rates. Oil prices spiked 7% as another tropical storm headed for the Gulf of Mexico, and a pivotal Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday had traders wondering whether the Fed will halt its 15-month rate hike campaign in the wake of Hurricane […]

A nice turn higher by the indexes today after holding support yesterday, but they still have a big Federal Reserve meeting to make it through next week. The S&P (first chart below) still faces major resistance at 1242-1246, with 1239 up first, and support is 1237, 1232, 1230, 1227 and 1225. The Nasdaq (second chart) […]

Shares of Adobe jumped 9.4% Friday after beating Wall Street estimates, and the broader market surged on hopes for lower oil prices. Adobe’s shares rose after the company’s earnings topped analysts’ estimates on strong sales of Creative Suite and Acrobat, as investors shook off fears of competition from Microsoft to send the stock higher. Shares […]

The S&P (first chart below) has about four different supports at the 1226 level — three trendlines and a moving average — so it’s a level the bulls need to hold. Below that, 1218-1222 and 1210 are the next support levels, and resistance is 1236-1237 and 1242-1246. The Nasdaq (second chart) has important support at […]

Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in 1999 anymore. In a move that would have been unheard of back in the heyday of the Internet bubble, two underwriters of Baidu.com’s red-hot IPO came out and said the stock has come too far too fast. In a sign that research and investment banking may finally […]

The S&P and Dow (first two charts below) sure look like lower highs here. If that’s the case, the downside target could be just below the late August lows, but with fear among options traders quick to spike today, the bulls have some support if they want to turn this thing around. The S&P faces […]