Paul Shread

Shares of Nokia rallied 4.6% Tuesday after the company raised guidance well above analysts’ expectations, but the rest of the market sank on weak retail sales. Nokia attributed its guidance to “stronger than expected mobile device volumes and relatively firm prices.” The Finnish cell phone giant said it expects third-quarter earnings of 22-23 cents a […]

Mendocino Software has closed on an $18 million funding round to help bring its continuous data protection (CDP) product to market later this year, but the company remains mum on reports that EMC will be reselling the product. “We have two major OEMs signed, but we have not made any public announcements about those relationships […]

Signs of indecision on the S&P (first chart below): an inside day and a doji, or small unchanged candlestick, right below the major resistance level of 1244-1246. Resistance is 1242.6-1245.86, and support is 1239, 1237, 1232 and 1228. The Nasdaq (second chart) showed some nice strength today. Support is 2175-2179, 2164-2166 and 2160, and resistance […]

A pair of blockbuster mergers in the technology sector Monday had investors wondering who might be next. Oracle’s $5.85 billion acquisition of Siebel and eBay’s $2.6 billion acquisition of VoIP provider Skype gave the Nasdaq a boost on an otherwise lackluster trading day. Oracle competitor SAP and Siebel competitor Salesforce.com were little changed as investors […]

EMC widened its lead in the storage software market in the second quarter as top competitor Veritas slipped, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Storage Software Tracker. EMC grew sales 13.1 percent in the quarter, compared to 7 percent growth for Veritas, which was in the process of being acquired by Symantec in a deal that […]

No complaints with the S&P (first chart below), which is nearing a four-year high. Resistance is 1244-1246, 1250, 1255 and 1265, and support is 1236-1237, 1231-1234 and 1228. The Nasdaq (second chart) has suddenly become the laggard. Resistance is 2178, 2185 and 2195-2200, and support is 2169, 2164, 2158-2160 and 2152. The Dow (third chart) […]

Stocks posted strong gains Friday despite lackluster investor response to earnings updates from Intel and Texas Instruments . Shares of Intel fell 3% after the company reaffirmed guidance on strong notebook sales, but confirmed that it is facing supply constraints. TI, meanwhile, ended the day unchanged despite raising guidance well above analysts’ estimates late Thursday. […]

Nice support hold by the S&P (first chart below) today, holding a point where two trendlines converged. A textbook picture today. Support is 1228-1230 for tomorrow, when a third trendline will enter that zone. Resistance is 1237, 1240 and 1244-1246. The Nasdaq (second chart) has support at 2158-2160, with 2150 the next level below that. […]

Intel had no surprises for investors during its mid-quarter update late Thursday, but Texas Instruments gave shareholders a nice surprise by raising guidance well above analysts’ estimates. Intel said it expects revenues of $9.8-$9.10 billion for the third quarter, driven by strong notebook sales, but held back by the company’s ability to meet demand. That’s […]

The S&P (first chart below) is less than 1% from its four-year high of 1245.86 set last month. That’s also the bottom of a major resistance zone between 1244 and 1265. 1229-1230 should be solid support at this point, with 1223 below that. The Nasdaq (second chart) has important short-term support at 2158, and resistance […]

Wednesday’s stock market action was brought to you by the letter A. Altera made investors nervous ahead of mid-quarter updates Thursday by Intel and Texas Instruments when the company delivered a disappointing update of its own. Altera shares fell 8% after the company lowered its gross margin forecast, signaling lower than expected profitability. Adtran soared […]

The S&P (first chart below) took out a number of big resistance levels today, a strong day for the broad market. Could the index be ready to challenge the major resistance zone between 1244 and 1265 again? Support is 1232, 1227-1229 and 1221. The Nasdaq (second chart) faces resistance at 2174-2176 and 2185-2190, and support […]