Florida Court Could Take Wind Out Of Rally

A Florida Supreme Court decision after the close on Friday that could lead to recounts of all disputed presidential ballots in the state sent stocks lower after hours, capping an otherwise strong day.

A revenue warning from Intel that wasn’t as bad as expected sent stocks sharply higher during the day, and investors also cheered a weaker-than-expected unemployment report even though it revealed some wage pressures.

The ISDEX soared 44 to 494, and the Nasdaq surged 163 to 2916. The S&P 500 rose 26 to 1369, and the Dow climbed 95 to 10,712. Volume rose to 1.3 billion shares on the NYSE and 2.3 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led by 20 to 8 on the NYSE and 28 to 11 on the Nasdaq. For earnings reports, visit our earnings calendar and reported earnings. For after hours quotes and news, visit our after hours trading site.

Amazon.com rose 1 5/16 to 22 11/16 on news that Salomon Smith Barney sent staffers to work undercover in Amazon’s Delaware distribution center and found that the company’s quarter was tracking ahead of expectations.

A stunning 23 of 50 ISDEX stocks posted 10% gains. Among the biggest point gainers were former leaders like Juniper , up 9 3/4 to 158 5/8, Broadcom , up 12 1/2 to 123 1/4, Checkpoint , up 17 1/16 to 155, and Ariba , up 5 1/2 to 79 1/2, just below 83 1/2 resistance.

Openwave rose 12 to 70, Tibco surged 10 7/8 to 69 7/8, Wireless Facilities climbed 8 1/32 to 42 25/32, Inktomi added 3 7/16 to 39 5/8, and i2 rose 3 1/4 to 60 5/16.

AskJeeves plunged 5 7/8 to 3 13/16 on an earnings warning and news that CEO Rob Wrubel is stepping down.

Yahoo continued to struggle on earnings concerns, but managed to gain 1/4 to 35 1/4, well off its low of 32 1/8. After the close, DoubleClick announced a conference call after the close on Monday, leading to worries that it may warn.

Ciena surged 15 19/32 to 111 7/32 a day after beating estimates and raising forecasts. The company also announced the successful completion of interoperability tests with Cisco , up 1 to 51.

StarMedia Network tacked on 9/32 to 3 5/32 on a Bear Stearns Buy rating and $8-$9 price target.

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

After the close, the Florida Supreme Court gave us one more reason to wait for a clean breakout before calling a bottom. The Nasdaq 100 closed right at the neckline of its inverted head-and-shoulders bottom (2895). A close above 2953, breaking the pattern by 2%, would give the Nasdaq 100 minimum upside potential to 3350. One big positive today is that the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index easily negated its recent breakdown at 600 with a close of 638.

The ISDEX is also forming an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern, and would take it out with a close above 500.

The S&P 500 is holding its lower support line, but we have to wonder if its advance is forming a bearish rising wedge, indicating a possible retest of the lows. 1400 is critical resistance.

The Dow

is so far holding the 10,600-10,650 range, a source of much support and resistance lately. A break of 10,600 could indicate a retest of the 10,380 area, and a move above 10,900 would be a positive.

Special report: For a free introduction to technical chart patterns and an overview of this year’s action in the stock market, visit http://www.internetstockreport.com/guest/article/0,1785,2571_500051,00.html.

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