Paul Shread

McData plunged more than 17% Monday after warning that third-quarter earnings and revenues will come in lower than analysts expected. McData has been locked in a price war with Brocade and Cisco in the storage switch market. And with two acquisitions announced Monday, McData plans to make that rivalry even hotter, and put pressure on […]

If there’s one thing that could undo this rally, it’s weakness in the financials. If you were watching the BKX (first chart below), the banking index, you wouldn’t have been surprised when today’s rally came unglued. The banks were red by 10:05 this morning, while the Nasdaq was still above 1800. Watch those financials: that’s […]

News that Intel is having one of its best quarters in the last 10 years wasn’t enough to boost stocks on Friday, as the broader market sold off on concern about rising interest rates. Intel said its quarter is going so well that the company raised forecasts with almost half the quarter still to go. […]

The Nasdaq closed at a new post-bear market high on Thursday, extending the index’s recovery into its 10th month. Behind anemic earnings from tech giants like HP lie strong results from names like Broadcom and Network Appliance , which gained 5-8% each on Thursday compared to a 0.2% gain for HP. Also behind Thursday’s gains […]

About 30% of companies lack a formal disaster recovery strategy, and 64% of companies say their data backup and disaster recovery plans have significant vulnerabilities, according to a recent national survey sponsored by Imation Corp. The lack of a sound DR strategy leaves those companies vulnerable to potential data loss as a result of natural […]

The Dow (first chart below) is holding its old March uptrend line, a positive for the blue chips. Rising at about 12-13 points a day, that support should be at 9376-9377 tomorrow, and 9352-9361 is also important support. First resistance is 9470. The S&P and Nasdaq (second and third charts) now must follow the Dow […]

An earnings report from HP that missed on all fronts sent stocks lower on Wednesday. HP plunged 10% after missing earnings and revenue estimates and warning. Since pricing pressure was partly to blame for the disappointment, another round of price cuts from Dell could keep the pressure on HP and other competitors. Surprisingly, the Nasdaq […]

The Dow (first chart below) held 9352-9361 support nicely; an important support for the index. First resistance is 9470, and 9700 is possible based on the size of the trading range the index broke out of yesterday. But the S&P and Nasdaq (second and third charts) now must confirm that breakout by taking out 1015 […]

HP became the latest tech bellwether to report less than stellar results after the close on Tuesday. Earnings of 23 cents a share missed estimates by 3 cents, and revenues of $17.35 billion came in shy of $17.49 billion estimates. The company’s forward guidance wasn’t much better, with expectations of 34-36 cent earnings for next […]

A clear victory for the bulls today. The Dow (first chart below) broke 9352-9361 resistance, and based on the size of that bullish ascending triangle, the index could be headed for 9600-9700. First resistance is 9470, and 9352-9361 is now important support. The S&P (second chart) broke its July downtrend today. 1004.6 and 1015 is […]

HP will serve as the latest barometer of the tech sector’s recovery when it reports earnings tomorrow night. Analysts are expecting HP to report earnings of 26 cents a share, a healthy rebound from 14 cents in the year-ago quarter. HP rose 3.4% today when AG Edwards upgraded the tech giant ahead of its results. […]

The Dow and S&P (first two charts below) can’t make up their minds whether they’re bull or bear. The Dow could be a bullish ascending triangle – if it can clear 9352-9361. The S&P, on the other hand, could be a bearish descending triangle if it can’t clear 992-994. Support is 9160-9200 on the Dow, […]