Thursday, August 25, 2005

Stocks Finish Slightly Higher as Lower Long-term Rates Offset Higher Energy Prices

Indices
S&P 500 1,212.39 +.23%
DJIA 10,450.63 +.15%
NASDAQ 2,134.37 +.26%
Russell 2000 657.70 +.41%
DJ Wilshire 5000 12,102.72 +.24%
S&P Barra Growth 580.49 +.23%
S&P Barra Value 627.64 +.23%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 580.14 +.25%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 732.74 +.39%
Morgan Stanley Technology 492.95 unch.
Transports 3,695.95 +.82%
Utilities 402.11 +1.18%
Put/Call .86 -5.49%
NYSE Arms .92 -32.64%
Volatility(VIX) 13.73 -3.11%
ISE Sentiment 203.00 +69.17%
US Dollar 87.73 +.10%
CRB 318.33 -.53%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 67.47 -.03%
Unleaded Gasoline 196.45 +.04%
Natural Gas 9.75 -.15%
Heating Oil 186.80 -.08%
Gold 443.00 -.02%
Base Metals 129.04 -.72%
Copper 160.80 +.12%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.15 -.19%

Leading Sectors
Steel +2.06%
Utilities +1.18%
Gaming -.99%

Lagging Sectors
Software -.28%
Homebuilders -.75%
Oil Tankers -1.78%

Evening Review
Detailed Market Summary
Market Gauges
Daily ETF Performance
Style Performance
Market Wrap CNBC Video(bottom right)
S&P 500 Gallery View
Economic Calendar
Timely Economic Charts
GuruFocus.com
PM Market Call
After-hours Movers
Real-time/After-hours Stock Quote
In Play

Afternoon Recommendations
Goldman Sachs:
- Reiterated Underperform on AMLN.

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Iraqi officials extended talks on a new constitution until tomorrow to give negotiators a fourth day to reach consensus between Sunnis and the Kurds and Shiites who have submitted a draft document.
- Merck now faces 4,951 lawsuits over the painkiller Vioxx in state and federal courts, or 15% more than a month ago.
- United Airlines parent UAL Corp., the second-largest US carrier, has received four proposals from banks willing to provide $3 billion in financing to help the company exit bankruptcy.
- California sued GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb and 37 other pharmaceutical companies as part of a lawsuit accusing drugmakers of defrauding the state’s $34 billion Medi-Cal program by inflating prescription prices.

Financial Times:
- Al-Qaeda may be planning a terror attack on a financial center in Asia.
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished unchanged today as gains in my Oil Tanker shorts offset losses in my Medical longs. I did not trade in the afternoon, thus leaving the Portfolio 50% net long. The tone of the market was modestly positive today as the advance/decline line finished slightly higher, most sectors rose and volume was very light. Measures of investor anxiety were lower into the close. Overall, today’s market action was neutral. The fact that oil is moving relentlessly higher and stocks refuse to sell-off in any significant fashion is a huge positive.

No comments: