The ISDEX added 2 to 691, and the Nasdaq rose 12 to 3467. The S&P 500 traded up 4 to 1430, and the Dow climbed 88 to 10,807. Volume rose to 525 million shares on the NYSE and 955 million on the Nasdaq. Decliners led by 14 to 10 on the NYSE and 23 to 12 on the Nasdaq. The big economic report for the week is Friday’s unemployment report. Micron Technology
reports earnings tonight. For earnings reports, visit our earnings calendar and reported earnings. For after hours quotes and news, visit our after hours trading site.
Earnings warnings continued to trickle in. SciQuest , off 1 1/16 to 4 1/4, said it would report revenues at the lower end of the $19-$25 million estimate range. The company said it will post a loss of 43-45 cents, versus estimates of a 37-cent loss. Calico Commerce
, off 1 3/8 to 3 13/16, also warned, as did Lante
, down 1 1/32 to 3 23/32. Lante is the latest in a string of Internet consultants to warn of lower revenue from dotcom clients.
Amazon.com slipped 5/8 to 34 7/16 after trading as low as 32 on a Robertson Stephens research note that was the latest to question the company’s business model. The study estimated that Amazon lost an average of $2.91 per order, but said Amazon has a chance to evolve the business model and generate long-term profits. Separately, Amazon said it will launch an online photo store with Ofoto. Technical note: Amazon fell below 35, where it has found support repeatedly since breaking out of a falling wedge at that level in August. However, as we’ve said repeatedly, a retest of the 31 level was not out of the question, and could form the basis for an inverted head-and-shoulders bottom.
Yahoo gained 4 to 88. The company, which has sold off on earnings concerns, reports earnings next Tuesday.
The IPO of Oplink Communications priced at 18, opened at 29, and traded as high as 36 and as low as 26 1/2. The company is a supplier to Cisco
and JDS Uniphase
.
Interactive Pictures rose 1 25/32 to 6 7/32 on the launch of eBay
Picture Services.
RealNetworks climbed 2 7/16 to 34 3/4 on a CS First Boston Strong Buy rating.
Promotions.com slipped 3/16 to 1 5/8 after announcing a reorganization and 13% workforce reduction that the company said will save $3-$3.5 million a year.
B2B stocks recovered from their recent sharp decline. i2 Technologies gained 1 11/16 to 153 11/16 after trading as low as 141 7/8. Ariba
added 8 1/2 to 121, and Commerce One
climbed 5 to 63 7/8.
Some technical comments on the market: Note: We will now be including charts with the technical market commentary; just click on the links in the story below to go to them. If you have trouble accessing the charts via the e-mail newsletter version, try this link: http://www.afterhourstrading.com/column.html
Phew. Both the Nasdaq and w Nasdaq 100 held critical support today, and in the process have redrawn their broken October 1998 trendlines to encompass the May 2000 lows. The Nasdaq 100 held its trendline beautifully, but the Nasdaq pierced its trendline slightly. As we said yesterday, if these lines break, the May lows will likely be restested, and may not hol
d. To the upside, first important resistance is the Nasdaq’s downtrend line just below 3700. First important Fibonacci level is 3715, the 38% retracement of the 4259-3382 decline. The ISDEX found support at 671 today. First resistance is 700, and then 735, where the ISDEX broke critical support on Monday, its May uptrend line. To the downside, first support is 650, then 600, and then the May low of 560.
The Dow broke back above its downtrend line at around 10,750 today, but the more important test is the 10,850-10,900 area. If the index can get above 10,900, the cycle of lower highs will be broken and the old economy stocks could have room to run. To the downside, critical support is the October 1998 trendline at about 10,600 (also in the chart, note the gray lines, the bearish diamond pattern that could signal a market top). The S&P 500 is back above its April trendline at about 1425 (the black line) after trading as low as 1416 today, just above its late July low of 1414. To the upside, resistance can be found at the broken May trendline (the gray line) at about 1465.
