A better than expected weekly jobless claims report and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey gave traders hope that Fed rate cuts may soon begin to boost the economy. But earnings warnings after the close served as a reminder that risks remain.
The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ gained 4 to 227, and the Nasdaq added 27 to 2058. The S&P 500 climbed 13 to 1237, and the Dow rose 68 to 10,715. Volume rose to 1.47 billion shares on the NYSE, and 2.15 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led 17 to 13 on the NYSE, and 20 to 16 on the Nasdaq. 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.
After the close, Micron Technology missed estimates by 36 cents with a 50-cent loss, and Symantec
plunged on an earnings warning. Manugistics
matched estimates, and Research In Motion
rose after matching estimates and reaffirming guidance.
Cisco led the market higher during the day, rising 1.35 to 17.75 on comments that some construed as reaffirming the low end of the company’s guidance.
Nortel rose .44 to 8.45 on a $270 million contract with China Unicom.
Riverstone Networks slipped .83 to 18.20 after topping estimates by 2 cents with a 3-cent loss.
Homestore.com surged 2.77 on bullish comments from Wit SoundView, which called it the stock to own for the second half of the year.
Microsoft slipped .21 to 69.20 after some state attorneys general threatened yet another lawsuit. An appellate court ruling on the Microsoft antitrust case is expected any day.
Sanmina rose 1.01 to 21.09 on an earnings, but Verity
was not as lucky, falling 4.56 to 17.12 on its warning.
Digital River surged .52 to 4.75 after reaffirming guidance.
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
A nice day today, with buying pressure from the get-go. Even early on, when the market got off to a weak start, the TRIN was below .80, signaling buying pressure that eventually sent the market higher. A good intraday indicator to follow to see if a rally is for real. The Nasdaq (first chart) broke out of a falling wedge this morning and could be headed for a test of the broken head and shoulders neckline at 2125. First resistance is 2077, and 1973 is critical support. The S&P 500 (second chart) could be headed for a whole lot of resistance at 1250; a break above that level would be a big plus. 1200 is key support. The strong move today negated a bear flag that had been forming the last few days, a good sign. The Dow (third chart) cleared 10,700 resistance; 10,870 is critical resistance, and 10,560 is important support. Tomorrow is the final day of a turn window, and it looks like the market could be up into the Fed meeting on June 26-27, or at least flat.
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.
