Paul Shread

An early rally on Tuesday turned to selling on news of a new bin Laden tape and Iraq’s rejection of a UN peacekeeping force. The Nasdaq slipped 1 to 1295, the S&P 500 lost 6 to 829, and the Dow dropped 77 to 7843. Volume rose to 1.29 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.32 […]

A reversal on rising volume to create yet another distribution day. However, so far neither sellers nor buyers have shown much conviction, so it’s possible the trading range continues a while longer. Critical support for tomorrow is 7775 on the Dow (first chart below), 822-823 on the S&P (second chart) and 1263-1273 on the Nasdaq […]

Stocks were boosted Monday by Iraq’s decision to allow U-2 surveillance flights. The Nasdaq gained 14 to 1296, the S&P 500 rose 6 to 835, and the Dow climbed 55 to 7920. Volume declined to 1.23 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.21 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led 18-14 on the NYSE, and 17-14 […]

The indexes have so far been grinding lower while bouncing just enough to relieve oversold conditions. Can they put in a good bounce, or do we need some hard selling first? The Dow and S&P (first two charts below) continue to flirt with falling support. If those supports break cleanly, with a close below 7825 […]

Cisco Systems is launching a technology development program for independent software vendors in the SAN management and storage resource management industries to integrate their applications to the Cisco MDS 9000 family of multilayer directors and fabric switches. The open-API (application platform interface) program includes a software developer’s kit (SDK) that gives companies full access to […]

The Nasdaq (first chart below) broke 1300 support today, which now looks like it should be tough resistance. 1263-1273 is first support, and then 1220. The Dow and S&P (second and third charts) pierced falling support lines before recovering. 7830-7850, 7700 and 7500 are support on the Dow, and resistance is 8000 and 8150. 825, […]

The S&P (first chart below) closed below the important 839.50 level today, the 61.8% retracement off the October low, but it also seems to have found support at a falling trendline. That line will be at about 830 tomorrow; if it goes, the downtrend would likely accelerate. Resistance is 845, 850, 860 and 865. The […]

An unexpected decline in productivity and growing conflict with Iraq and North Korea weighed on stocks Thursday. The Nasdaq was unchanged at 1301, the S&P 500 declined 5 to 838, and the Dow fell 55 to 7929. Volume declined to 1.38 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.23 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led 20-11 […]

The Dow and S&P (first two charts below) continue to consolidate at the lows after 900- and 90-point declines, respectively. If that first leg down is duplicated, the targets become 7250 on the Dow and 780 on the S&P – just above the October lows. 7902.6 and 839.50 are the critical support levels; with the […]

A strong rally on Wednesday fizzled after Secretary of State Colin Powell’s address to the UN failed to win over doubters. The Nasdaq lost 4 to 1301, the S&P 500 declined 4 to 843, and the Dow fell 28 to 7985, 167 points off its high for the day. Volume rose to 1.43 billion shares […]

IBM, United Devices and Accelrys will team with leading researchers and the Department of Defense on a Grid computing project aimed at finding a cure for smallpox. There currently is no specific treatment for smallpox post infection. The only prevention is vaccination, but routine inoculation was discontinued following the World Health Organization effort to eradicate […]

Cisco Systems beat earnings estimates after the close on Tuesday, but revenues came in lighter than expected and the company lowered forward guidance. Stocks fell during the day on insurance company losses and jitters ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s speech to the UN on Wednesday. The Nasdaq fell 17 to 1306, the […]