Paul Shread

The Nasdaq (first chart below) continues to “wedge” higher on falling volume — not the greatest recipe for a sustained rally. The index could be due for a sharp pullback at any time, but dip buyers could sustain this rally a while longer. 1860 is important support, and 1850 and 1840 are below that. 1866-1870 […]

Google began trading options on Friday, and interest in the financial instruments appeared strong. Reuters reported that more than 69,000 Google options traded on Friday, very heavy trading for options in an individual name. More than 31,000 of the trades were in calls — essentially, bets that the stock will go up — and nearly […]

The Nasdaq (first chart below) pulled back inside what looks like a bearish rising wedge today. So far we’d have to say the rally doesn’t look very impressive, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it continue a while — dip buyers and momentum seem to favor the bulls for now. That said, a move […]

Tech Data delivered strong results after the close on Thursday, but Novellus warned that customer demand is softer than expected. Tech Data’s earnings of 52 cents a share beat estimates by 3 cents, and revenues of $4.58 billion topped forecasts. The company said it sees third-quarter earnings of 52-57 cents a share, compared to 54 […]

Dell’Oro Group’s latest numbers for the storage area network (SAN) market show Cisco gaining market share in SAN switches, and QLogic pulling even with Emulex in host bus adapter (HBA) revenues. Dell’Oro’s latest report found that sales of Fibre Channel switches and HBAs declined 3 percent in the second quarter of 2004. The FC switch […]

The Nasdaq (first chart below) is pushing through rising resistance here, a sign of strength because sellers often win the battle when rising resistance is hit. The index faces resistance every 10 points between here and 1900, and support is 1850 and 1843. The S&P (second chart) was stopped at the bottom of the major […]

Last week’s acquisition of Chinese online retailer Joyo by Amazon.com appears to have touched off a bit of speculative fever in Chinese Internet stocks. SINA soared 16% Wednesday on rumors that Yahoo could make a play for the company. The rumors have surfaced before, but Amazon’s recent acquisition appears to have traders listening more closely. […]

Tech stocks lagged the broader market on Tuesday, weighed down by analyst downgrades to Broadcom and Cisco . Broadcom fell 7%, dragging the chip sector 2.5% lower, after CS First Boston said channel checks suggest that the company’s earnings may be at risk for the next couple of quarters. CSFB lowered its 2004 and 2005 […]

Volume fell off a cliff today, and the internals turned negative. The Nasdaq (first chart below) appears to be “wedging higher” here and could be due for a pullback. The index has support at 1835, 1831, 1821 and 1810, and resistance is 1848, 1855 and 1860. The S&P (second chart) has support at 1094, 1090, […]

The IT services sector got a boost from analysts on Monday, even if the endorsements were a little on the lukewarm side. Merrill Lynch called Information Technology services the most attractive technology sector — but said it was the best “among a set of poor choices.” Merrill said it is negative on the tech sector […]

Short-term, the market is overbought, but momentum appears to have turned up for a change, with every dip getting bought. The Nasdaq (first chart below) was stopped at 1842 resistance today. Support is 1831 and 1816-1821, and resistance is 1843, 1850 and 1860. The S&P (second chart) was stopped at 1100; above that, 1106-1110 is […]

Stocks capped an eventful week on an up note on Friday, but chip stocks barely joined the party. The Philadelphia semiconductor index was up 0.23% on the day, after Semiconductor Equipment and Material International reported that orders contracted in July for the third straight month. However, at a 1.05 to 1 book-to-bill ratio, orders continues […]