Paul Shread

The Dow (first chart below) finally cleared its downtrend line today. That said, the rally is four days old and the index has yet to put in an impressive up day; it could use a little more buying pressure to sustain the rally. 10,575-10,660 is one big resistance zone, and support is 10,475-10,520. The Nasdaq […]

Strong earnings news from Dell and Dow component Alcoa kicked off first-quarter earnings season in fine fashion on Thursday. Dell’s quarter still has a few more weeks left, and the company won’t officially report results until next month, but the company’s assurance late Wednesday that it is on track to meet Wall Street expectations gave […]

Dell gave Wall Street some comforting news after the close on Wednesday, saying its first quarter remains on track. Ahead of the company’s annual meeting on Thursday, Dell reaffirmed guidance the company gave during its quarterly earnings report on Feb. 10. With a few weeks left in the quarter, Dell said it is on track […]

The toughest resistance level for the market remains the Dow’s main downtrend line (first chart below). The index snuck above that line today, only to get beaten back down by the close. That line appears to be just above 10,500 for tomorrow, and it’s a level the bulls are going to have to take out […]

In the context of recent market behavior, today qualifies as a good day. The Nasdaq (first chart below) held its 200-day moving average at 1993 and pushed its March downtrend today. A move above 2002 would be a plus, with 2008, 2023 and 2040-2045 waiting above that. The Dow (second chart) has support at 10,415-10,420, […]

Shares of Research in Motion lost 4% after hours Tuesday after the company reported revenues that weren’t up to Wall Street’s expectations. RIM’s pro forma earnings of 71 cents a share beat estimates of 65 cents, but revenues of $405 million were shy of $410 million forecasts. RIM’s pro forma earnings excluded a charge for […]

The Dow and S&P (first two charts below) are trying to find support near their January lows, but so far it’s struggle. The Dow has support at 10,378 and 10,325-10,368, and 10,525 is the level to beat on the upside. Not pretty, but we’ll give the blue chips points for piercing support and managing to […]

Earnings from Research in Motion and analyst meetings at Dell and Nokia could give investors an early look this week at the state of first-quarter earnings reports. The pre-announcement period contained little in the way of warnings from leading technology names — warnings from TI and Novellus were balanced by strong outlooks from Intel and […]

An ugly reversal today. The Dow (first chart below) set a new low for the move and ended the day near critical 10,368-10,378 support. To the upside, 10,525-10,550 is resistance — a nasty failure there today. The Nasdaq (second chart) is back below its 200-day moving average at 1993, and above that, the index is […]

Shares of Red Hat surged 11% Friday on news that earnings more than doubled in the company’s most recent quarter, but the broader market tumbled after reports showed higher inflation and slower growth, raising fears of 1970s-style “stagflation.” Red Hat’s earnings soared 146% from a year ago, and the company said it expects to grow […]

The indexes paused to digest yesterday’s big gains ahead of tomorrow’s big jobs report — no cause for concern based on today’s action. The Nasdaq (first chart) held above its 200-day moving average at 1993, a plus there. Resistance is 2008, 2023 and 2040. The S&P (second chart) barely corrected at all today. Support is […]

Red Hat’s earnings more than doubled in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, and enterprise subscriptions nearly doubled too. Red Hat earned $11.8 million in the quarter, or six cents a share, up from $4.8 million, or three cents a share, in the year ago quarter. The company’s earnings were in line with Wall Street’s expectations, […]