Stocks Take A Well-Deserved Breather
Stocks took a well-deserved breather Thursday a day after soaring to record gains on record volume after a surprise Federal Reserve rate cut.
The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/
Inktomi
The Fed's rate cut had an immediate effect on telecom service providers, who are heavily dependent on the credit markets to raise money. XO Communications
Online brokers also benefited from the rate cut. E*Trade
JDS Uniphase
BMC Software
Vitria
barnesandnoble.com
Some technical comments on the market: Note: We are now including charts in the technical market commentary. If you can't get the charts via the e-mail newsletter version, try this link: http://www.afterhourstrading.com/column.html
Well, we expected some jitters after the dramatic Fed rate cut, and so far the market hasn't disappointed. Rumors abounded this morning that another fiasco like the Long Term Capital debacle of 1998 was in the making, and others were wondering if the economy is headed for recession. Not unreasonable speculation, given the unprecedented Fed action. But we have to wonder if Alan Greenspan isn't also a pretty good market technician, in addition to being a not-half-bad central banker. This is the second time Greenspan & Co. have come to the market's rescue after the Nasdaq's 1990 logarithmic trendline was pierced, the first time being in October 1998 (see first chart). Perhaps Greenspan realizes the importance of technology to the strong productivity gains of recent years. His timing is certainly noteworthy.
slipped 12 to 369, and the Nasdaq gave back 4 to 2612. The S&P 500 fell 8 to 1338, and the Dow rose 8 to 10,953. Volume rose to 1 billion shares on the NYSE and 1.25 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led by 14 to 13 on the NYSE, and 19 to 15 on the Nasdaq. The Labor Department will report December's employment data tomorrow morning, and traders will be looking to see if that's what got the Fed so worried. For earnings reports, visit our earnings calendar at http://www.wsrn.com/apps/earnings/internet.xpl and reported earnings at http://www.wsrn.com/apps/earnings/ireported.xpl. For after hours quotes and news, visit our after hours trading site at http://www.afterhourstrading.com.
fell 4 1/2 to 14 on an earnings warning. CacheFlow
lost 4 7/8 to 13 1/4.
rose 2 3/8 to 22 7/16 on news that it was raising new capital in the bond market. Metromedia Fiber
rose 2 11/16 to 15 5/8, and Global Crossing
rose 2 1/2 to 20 3/16. There were also rumors that GX could be a takeover target. XO's news was good for telecom service providers, who have been hard-hit by worries about slowing capital spending by service providers.
rose 1 to 10 1/2, and Ameritrade
added 1 1/2 to 9 1/2.
fell 2 7/8 to 50 3/4 on rumors that the company may have trouble making its quarter.
soared 7 1/8 to 22 3/4 on a positive earnings pre-announcement.
plunged 4 1/4 to 3 3/4 on an earnings warning. Resonate
, down 7 1/4 to 4, also warned.
tacked on 3/8 to 2 7/32 after announcing an eBooks imprint, Barnes & Noble Digital.