Paul Shread

Strong results from HP got stocks off to a rousing start on Wednesday, but the market gave up all its gains by the close on escalating violence in Iraq. HP gained 4% on better than expected results and guidance. At their highs, the major indices were up 1-2%, but the rally unraveled on reports that […]

Today’s internals and gains were unimpressive, and sellers seemed to be waiting en masse at the highs of the day, but it’s a start. Now let’s see if the bulls can build on it. At least the put-call ratio continues to show skepticism; at some point, that should be worth a good bounce. The Nasdaq […]

Shares of HP jumped 4% after hours Tuesday after the company beat revenue estimates and raised guidance. HP’s earnings of 34 cents a share met estimates, and revenues of $20.11 billion topped $19.33 billion forecasts. HP said it sees second-half revenues of $39.7-$40.7 billion, compared to $39.7 billion estimates. Applied Materials beat earnings and revenue […]

Sony Electronics is rolling out storage products based on blue laser optical disc technology. Sony’s Professional Disc for DATA (ProDATA) drives pack 23GB of storage capacity onto a single-sided optical disc by using blue laser technology and advanced optics, according to Robert DeMoulin, marketing manager for branded storage products in Sony Electronics’ IT Products Division. […]

Applied Materials and HP will give investors the latest opportunity to end a four-month market slide when they report earnings after the close on Tuesday. Both are expected to report solid growth. AMAT is expected to report earnings of 19 cents a share, up from 3 cents a year ago, and HP is expected to […]

Puts continue to pile up at a rate not seen since the September 2001 or October 2002 bottoms. However, the most important element, a turn in price, has yet to occur. The Nasdaq (first chart below) faces resistance at 1930 and 1945, and support is 1897 and 1878. The S&P (second chart) faces tough resistance […]

Pricing pressures at Dell , a higher than expected rise in retail prices, and flagging consumer sentiment weighed on tech stocks Friday. Given all that bad news, it’s a wonder the broader market was able to finish flat. Dell lost 3% despite beating revenue estimates and raising guidance, as investors focused on rising component costs […]

Today’s rally failed at downtrend lines on the major indexes (see charts below). The set-up still favors the bulls, but buyers have to step up soon. Tomorrow’s CPI will be the last good piece of inflation data for a while; let’s hope it gives the bulls something to cheer about. Positives today include another high […]

Dell became the latest tech giant to get hit despite a solid earnings report. After the close on Thursday, Dell reported first-quarter earnings of 28 cents a share, in line with estimates, while revenues of $11.54 billion beat $11.35 billion forecasts. Dell also reaffirmed second-quarter estimates of 29-cent earnings, and raised revenue guidance to $11.7 […]

In a sector where companies try to be all things to all customers, Allocity is focusing on doing one thing and doing it well. The start-up has designed what it claims is the first application-specific storage management system. Allocity’s Live!Ex is a self-managing, self-protecting storage subsystem engineered specifically for storing Microsoft Exchange databases. Allocity marketing […]

We have a possible completed Elliott wave correction at today’s Dow and S&P lows, very high fear levels, and a strong reversal coming off extremely oversold conditions. If the market wants to turn up, that set-up is good enough. Now all we need is some tame inflation data the next two days. The Nasdaq (first […]

Cisco delivered strong earnings and guidance late Tuesday, but investors just couldn’t bring themselves to reward the networking giant. Cisco lost 1% during Wednesday’s trading session, as investors ignored stellar results and instead fretted about rising inventories and whether a sequential decline in router revenues meant that Juniper was stealing high-end market share. What it […]