A better than expected outlook from Intel did little to boost stocks on Friday, as traders focused instead on a weaker than expected jobs report.
The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ fell 6 to 189, and the Nasdaq lost 33 to 2021. The S&P 500 slipped 8 to 1158, and the Dow gave back 49 to 10,049. Volume declined to 1.24 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.91 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led 16 to 14 on the NYSE, and 18 to 17 on the Nasdaq.
Intel initially traded higher after raising its fourth quarter revenue guidance to $6.7-$6.9 million, at the high end of estimates, but ended the day down after analysts questioned whether the upturn was sustainable.
Sun Microsystems fell 5% after providing little in the way of guidance at its mid-quarter update.
Advanced Micro soared10% after raising estimates.
Microsoft slipped 1% after 9 states said they will seek tougher antitrust remedies against the software maker.
InVision soared 22% on optimism over FAA bomb detection contracts. The stock has more than doubled in the few weeks since it was our Company of the Week.
E*Trade climbed 6% after raising guidance.
Sonus surged 13% on hopes for a contract win from Sprint.
Some technical comments on the market: Note: We include 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
The Nasdaq (first chart) looks a little shaky here, with a gap down today after a doji yesterday. First support is 2000, and critical support is 1980. First resistance is 2043-2052, and if it can get that high, 2080 or so should cap the rally. The Dow (second chart) held the 10,000 level today, which is now first support. Critical support is 9950. Resistance is 10,059, 10,100 and 10,135. The S&P 500 (third chart) barely held its main September uptrend line today. That line should be at 1160 on Monday, and could be first resistance on the index. 1164-1165 is resistance after that, and then 1173-1175 and 1180-1185. Support is 1152, and critical support is 1145. As we’ve been saying for some time, next week (December 10-14) is a very important turn window that Chris Carolan (The Spiral Calendar) has as a peak in sentiment and psychology similar to April 1930 or January 1973, two major tops in the market. There are also a number of other important cycles converging next week. It’s possible that turn could be up (Dec. 14 is likely the most important date for that scenario), but given the sentiment and economic backdrop, it seems like a good place to look for a top. Almost all recent positive economic reports can be explained by one-time phenomena, and one forecasting group worth following, ECRI, has only three indicators turning up – and eight still pointing down. Investors have been pricing in a recovery that the evidence does not appear to support yet.
Special report: For a free introduction to technical chart patterns and an overview of last year’s action in the stock market, visit http://www.internetstockreport.com/guest/article/0,1785,2571_500051,00.html.
