Dow Jones 30: Industrials Index

[setravis]

Merger Deals Boost Stocks.......


7/2/2007


Stocks in the U.S. started a new week and a new quarter on an upbeat note, as blue chips and tech shares benefited from the latest merger activity and economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 126.81 points, or 0.95%, to close at 13,535.43, and the S&P 500 added 16.08 points, or 1.07%, to 1519.43. The Nasdaq was better by 29.07 points, or 1.12%, at 2632.30.

Monday marked the beginning of trading for the year's third quarter, and investors were happy to escape, at least for a day, from some of the recent volatility. Helping the mood was the M&A action.

The biggest deal was taking place north of the border, where Canada's BCE (BCE:) reached an agreement to go private in a transaction worth more than $30 billion, excluding debt. The company is being bought by the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Providence Equity Partners and Madison Dearborn.

BCE advanced $1.66, or 4.4%, to $39.45.

After the last session, AT&T (T:) said it would buy rural wireless carrier Dobson Communications (DCEL:) in a $2.8 billion arrangement, paying a 17% premium to the stock's closing price. Shares of AT&T tacked on 35 cents, or 0.8%, to $41.85.

Several other private-equity deals were announced, including GSO Capital Partners'' $1.1 billion buyout of ice and bottled-water producer Reddy Ice (FRZ:) . Additionally, Carlyle Group said it will buy Manor Care (HCR:) for $67 a share, making the deal worth $6.3 billion.

Reddy Ice jumped 6.9% to $30.48, but Manor Care slipped 1.8% to $64.10.

Virgin Media (VMED:) surged nearly 18% after Carlyle Group was said to have bid $11.1 billion to take the company private. The stock finished up $4.30, or 17.6%, to $28.67.

Treasury prices jumped after the release of the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index. The index rose to a reading of 56.0 last month from 55.0 in May, slightly above expectations. On Thursday, the ISM will post its services index for June.

The 10-year note rose 10/32 in price to yield 4.98%, its lowest level in nearly one month. The 30-year bond added 15/32, yielding 5.09%. The dollar declined against the world's major currencies.

Robert Pavlik, chief investment officer with Oaktree Asset Management, said that stocks had plenty of help from two major sources during an active day.

"Strong manufacturing data showed that the economy continues to move at a moderate pace. Lower interest rates made it a win-win situation today," he said. "The M&A headlines were another plus for stocks on this fairly normal day. Everyone will be leaving tomorrow ahead of the holiday, and I would imagine it'll quiet down the rest of the week."

The Day's session was one of only three full trading sessions this week. U.S. markets will be closed Wednesday for the Independence Day holiday after closing early at 1 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.

About 2.60 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, as advancers topped decliners by a 3-to-1 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.85 billion shares, with winners outpacing losers 2 to 1.

Meanwhile, crude prices were higher after falling below $70 a barrel earlier. Oil gained 41 cents to close at $71.09 a barrel, its highest finish since September. Natural gas lost a penny to $6.76 per million British thermal units.

Among metals, gold was up $8.30 to $659.20 an ounce, and silver gained 26 cents to $12.74 an ounce.

Several homebuilders were under pressure after Citigroup cut its rating to hold from buy for Toll Brothers (TOL:) , Pulte Homes (PHM:) , Lennar (LEN:) , Ryland Group (RYL:) , KB Home (KBH:) , DR Horton (DHI:) and Hovnanian (HOV:) .

As for other ratings changes, Deutsche Securities upgraded Tribune (TRB:) to buy from hold, while CIBC World Markets downgraded SanDisk (SNDK:) to sector perform from sector outperform.

Tribune rose 51 cents, or 1.7%, to $29.91. SanDisk lost 54 cents, or 1.1%, to $48.40.

Overseas, equities fell in Europe after a weekend car bomb at Glasgow's airport set off terrorism fears throughout the U.K. The attack came a day after police in London found two cars rigged with explosives in the city.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.1%, and Frankfurt's DAX eased 0.6%. Tokyo's Nikkei was fractionally higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.8%.

[setravis]

AP
Stocks Rally As Bond Yields Dip
Monday July 2, 6:58 pm ET
By Madlen Read, AP Business Writer 
Wall Street Soars, Boosted by a Decline in Treasury Yields and a Rise in June Manufacturing


NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street soared Monday in the first day of trading for the third quarter, boosted by a decline in Treasury yields, a rise in June manufacturing activity and a spate of buyout news.


The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 120 points after the Institute for Supply Management's June manufacturing index came in at 56.0, slightly higher than the market expected and indicating stronger expansion than May's reading of 55.0. The report also showed a decrease in its prices paid index, suggesting inflation pressures lifted a bit last month and easing some of the market's worries about the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury note's yield fell below 5 percent from 5.03 percent late Friday, dampened as investors flocked to the safe-haven assets amid ongoing jitters about subprime lending. In mid-June, Bear Stearns & Cos. had to bail out a hedge fund with investments tied to subprime mortgages.

Investors were also enthusiastic about new takeover activity, involving such targets as Canadian telecommunications company BCE Inc., rural wireless provider Dobson Communications Corp. and British telecommunications company Virgin Media Inc.

"There's favorable economic news and continuing merger talk. That's a pretty good recipe for the market," said Stuart Schweitzer, managing director and global markets strategist for JPMorgan Private Bank. He added, though, that the market has been seesawing in recent weeks and trading volumes are light, so the market's gain should not be interpreted as a turnaround just yet.

"I think the movie's going to end well this year, but there are still going to be some scenes where we'll have to take our eyes away from the screen," Schweitzer said, pointing to persistent sluggishness in the housing market and nervousness over credit problems.

The Dow rose 126.81, or 0.95 percent, to 13,535.43.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 16.08, or 1.07 percent, to 1,519.43, and the Nasdaq composite index jumped 29.07, or 1.12 percent, to 2,632.30.

The combination of retreating yields and reports of fresh buyout activity gave some relief to investors who were worried about business slowing down due to high rates.

"There's a little positive to the subprime woes, that being that interest rates are dropping now," said Steven Goldman, chief market strategist at Weeden & Co. in Greenwich, Conn. The 10-year Treasury note's yield breached the 5 percent level in early June for the first time since last year, hit a peak of nearly 5.30 percent, and have since retreated. High rates can hamper deal making.

BCE rose $1.66, or 4.4 percent, to $39.45 after a $32.6 billion buyout offer over the weekend -- the biggest Canadian takeover ever -- from a consortium led by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board.

The news followed AT&T's announcement Friday that it agreed to buy Dobson for $2.8 billion. Dobson rose $1.31, or 11.8 percent, to $12.40 Monday, while AT&T rose 35 cents to $41.85.

On Monday, Virgin Media confirmed it received a buyout offer, following reports that private equity firm the Carlyle Group bid more than $11 billion for the company. Virgin Media soared $4.30, or 17.6 percent, to $28.67.

The Carlyle Group also made an offer for nursing home chain Manor Care Inc., valued at $4.9 billion. Manor Care slipped $1.19 to $64.10.

Investors appeared unfazed Monday by high oil prices. Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange initially fell, but then rebounded to rise 41 cents to $71.09 a barrel -- closing above $71 for the first time in 10 months.

The dollar fell against most other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 4 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 2.50 billion shares, down from 3.10 billion shares Friday.

Trading volumes are low ahead of the Independence Day holiday on Wednesday, when U.S. stock exchanges will be closed. The markets are also closing early on Tuesday.

Two big pieces of data this week include the ISM's index of the service sector in June, to be released Thursday, and the Labor Department's jobs report, scheduled to come out Friday.

No major earnings reports are scheduled to be released this week, but investors will keep an eye out for profit warnings ahead of the second-quarter earnings season, which starts the third week of July.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 11.36, or 1.36 percent, to 845.06.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.04 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.26 percent, Germany's DAX index declined 0.61 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 0.46 percent.

[setravis]

Rally Continues for Stocks.......


7/3/2007


Stocks in the U.S. marched higher in a shortened session Tuesday, giving the major indices a two-day winning streak to start the third quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 41.87 points, or 0.31%, at 13,577.30, and the S&P 500 added 5.44 points, or 0.36%, to 1524.87. The Nasdaq was ahead by 12.65 points, or 0.48%, at 2644.95.

New York trading ended early at 1 p.m. EDT, and Wednesday will be a day off in order to observe the Independence Day holiday.

Volume was meager for the abbreviated session. Only 1.57 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, as advancers topped decliners by a 5-to-3 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.07 billion shares, with winners outpacing losers 8 to 7.

"There's not too much to say about today's session, even though there was a little buying ahead of the holiday," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist with Spencer Clarke LLC.

"Historically, the two days following the July 4th holiday haven't been positive for markets, so we could see profit-taking at the end of this week," he added. "Whatever traders that will be around will be focusing on Friday's important nonfarm payrolls report."

The latest rise marked a continuation of the previous session's advance, when merger activity and economic data lifted the market.

The Dow ended the prior day up 126.81 points, or 0.95%, to 13,535.43. The S&P rose 16.08 points, or 1.07%, to 1519.43, and the Nasdaq increased 29.07 points, or 1.12%, at 2632.30.

"With the start of the third quarter, investors have an opportunity to take on new riskier positions and have three months to see if they pan out," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist with Cantor Fitzgerald.

On the corporate side, more deals were being contemplated, including a move by Kraft (KFT:) , who said it plans to buy the cookie business of France's Groupe Danone (DA:) for more than $7 billion. Kraft shed 87 cents, or 2.5%, to close at $34.66. Groupe Danone gave back 20 cents, or 1.2%, to $16.65.

Elsewhere, Teck Cominco (TCK:) made an offer for fellow Canadian miner Aur Resources worth C$4.1 billion in cash and stock, extending a trend toward consolidation in the group. Teck Cominco fell by $1.40, or 3.2%, to $43.06.

Meanwhile, a study showed that Merck's (MRK:) painkiller Vioxx, which was pulled off the market in 2004, might have been dangerous sooner than the company believed, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper, which reviewed the so-far unpublished study, said heart problems could emerge soon after people started on the drug. Merck has said risks only began after 18 months of use, and that has been one of the keys of its defense against the thousands of Vioxx-related lawsuits it's facing. Merck added 26 cents, or 0.5%, to $49.83.

Shares of Movie Gallery (MOVI:) plunged 65.1% after the movie renter said it will default on certain financial requirements due to weak second-quarter earnings. The stock dove $1.23 to close at 66 cents.

As for research calls, UBS upgraded Business Objects (BOBJ:) to buy from neutral, and the firm downgraded Caterpillar (CAT:) to reduce from neutral. Business Objects was higher by 2.2% to $40.32, while Caterpillar sank 3.1% to $77.99.

Automakers were also posting vehicle sales results for June. Ford (F:) said sales fell 8.1% last month, and DaimlerChrysler (DCX:) posted a 2% decline.

General Motors (GM:) will post results later in the day.

Oil had been lower, but it turned around and rose 3 cents to $71.12 a barrel. Natural gas was off by 3 cents to $6.72 per million British thermal units. Among metals, gold was lower by $3.40 to $655.80 an ounce, and silver was down 4 cents to $12.70.

Treasury prices tumbled after the 10 a.m. EDT reports on pending home sales and factory orders. The National Association of Realtors said that pending home sales slid 3.5% in May, slightly more than expectations.

The Commerce Department said that factory orders fell 0.5% in the month, better than expectations for a 1.2% decline. Excluding transportation, factory orders were higher by 0.7%.

The 10-year note was down 14/32 in price to yield 5.05%, and the 30-year bond eased 25/32 in price, yielding 5.15%, The dollar was lower against the world's major currencies.

Overseas, stocks were generally stronger. Tokyo's Nikkei was unchanged, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.7%. London's FTSE was up 0.8%, and Frankfurt's DAX climbed 1.2%.

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Rising Yields Knock Down Stocks.......


7/5/2007


Stocks in the U.S. were retreating Thursday as an advance in bond yields overshadowed more news on the deal front.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 40 points to 13,537, and the S&P 500 was off 3 points at 1521. The Nasdaq was lower by only a fraction of a point at 2645, as both Apple (AAPL:) and Google (GOOG:) rose to all-time highs and helped keep the index afloat.

For the first two days of a holiday-shortened week the New York market traded higher, but buyers were a bit more reluctant as the new session arrived.

Giving the bears a hand was a sharp decrease in Treasury prices. The 10-year note was down 20/32 in price to yield 5.13%, and the 30-year bond was dropping 1 2/32 to yield 5.22%.

At the same time, an increase in energy prices was also putting pressure on the major indices. The front-month August contract was higher by 36 cents to $71.77 a barrel, and gasoline was tacking on a fraction of a penny at $2.26 a gallon.

The energy complex was rising even after the Energy Department's weekly inventory report showed an unexpected build of 3.1 million barrels in crude inventories last week. Distillate stocks added 1.2 million barrels, and gasoline stores rose by a greater-than-expected 1.8 million barrels. Refinery utilization rose 0.6 percentage points to 90% last week.

Since the previous close, private equity has been busy in the M&A arena, including a giant deal in the hotel space, where Blackstone Group (BX:) has set plans to buy Hilton Hotels (HLT:) for $26 billion.

Shares of Hilton were soaring 26% to $45.42. Other hotel stocks were jumping as well. Starwood Hotels (HOT:) rose 7.4%, Marriott (MAR:) was adding 7.2%, and Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG:) gained 4.1%.

Elsewhere, Huntsman (HUN:) , which has already agreed to one takeover bid, has received a competing offer from an affiliate of Apollo Management, and reports say Coca-Cola (KO:) has had talks about possibly buying the Snapple and Mott brands from Cadbury Schweppes (CSG:) .

Huntsman was surging 12.7% to $27.49. Coca-Cola was down 0.6% to $52.57, and Cadbury Schweppes was off 0.2% to $53.72.

As for ratings changes, Bear Stearns downgraded Dow component General Motors (GM:) to peer perform from outperform. The downgrade comes after GM said late Tuesday that auto sales dropped more than 20% in June compared with the year-ago period. Shares of GM were losing $1.40, or 3.7%, to $36.58.

Among the Day's economic news, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose by 2,000 last week, to 318,000. The less-volatile four-week moving average rose 1,750 to 318,500.

The report is the last before the government releases its all-important nonfarm payroll numbers for June at 8:30 a.m. EDT Friday. It is expected that the U.S. economy added 120,000 jobs last month.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Institute for Supply Management said its services index for last month rose to a reading of 60.7 from 59.7 in May. Economists expected the index would dip to a reading of 58.0.

Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist with Cantor Fitzgerald, said that the latest read on the ISM services index is a gift to traders looking for an idea what to expect as earnings season unofficially kicks off on Monday when Alcoa (AA:) posts second-quarter results.

"A number above 55 should support optimism over second-quarter earnings expectations," Pado said. "Earnings will be the key to the market's performance in July. Any data that supports earnings in excess of the 4.3% [expansion] anticipated should be warmly received."

Metals prices turned lower. Gold was recently down $4.20 to $651.20 an ounce, and silver was lower by 16 cents at $12.52 an ounce.

Overseas, Tokyo's Nikkei advanced 0.3%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2%. London's FTSE was lower by 0.6% after the Bank of England raised its key rate by 25 basis points. Frankfurt's DAX lost 1.1%.

[setravis]

Wall Street Shows Mettle.......


7/6/2007


Stocks shook off early weakness and closed higher Friday, as traders overlooked another climb in bond yields and the continuing advance in crude prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 45.84 points, or 0.34%, to 13,611.68. The S&P 500 was up 5.04 points, or 0.33%, at 1530.44, and the Nasdaq tacked on 9.86 points, or 0.37%, at 2666.51.

Despite an abbreviated trading session Tuesday and the Independence Day holiday on Wednesday, the major averages managed modest gains for the week. The Dow rose 1.5%, the S&P 500 added 1.8%, and the Nasdaq finished the week higher by 2.4%.

The news of the day was the employment report, one of the most important pieces of data the government releases every month. The numbers showed that 132,000 workers joined nonfarm payrolls in June, whereas economists had expected 125,000 positions to have been created.

The jobless rate remained at 4.5%, and average hourly earnings, a key inflation metric, rose 0.3%. Both matched consensus estimates.

However, job growth for the prior two months was revised sharply upward. The government now says 75,000 more employees were put to work in April and May than had been first thought.

"This report is quite strong, when adding in the revisions to previous months," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist with Avalon Partners. "This is good momentum for the economy as we leave the second quarter. This report shows solid growth."

Bond yields jumped early before pulling back slightly, although they still indicated that fixed-income traders view the jobs data as diminishing the chance of a near-term rate cut. The 10-year Treasury was down 13/32 in price, yielding 5.20%, and the 30-year bond was lower by 20/32, yielding 5.27%.

"Initially, the revisions to previous months pushed bond yields higher. This was an issue early on, but now traders are looking at this and considering that it's not necessarily due to an inflationary problem but instead a stronger economy," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist with Windham Financial. "There's light volume following the holiday, and that might have something to do with the volatility today."

Paul Nolte, director of investments with Hinsdale Associates, said that while the Fed has remained on the sidelines instead of raising or cutting rates, the move in the bond market has essentially done the work for them.

"After a bit of a swoon late in February, stock prices took flight through May, under the impression that as long as nothing happens, prices should rise," he said. "However, the rumblings of the first half may turn to all-out shouting in the second."

The data came just hours after Janet Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said during a speech that the central Bank's main concern should remain inflation, continuing the theme that other officials have stressed for months.

She also indicated that keeping rates steady would allow for growth and at the same time prevent prices from rising too far, too fast.

The Fed has left its target fed funds rate at 5.25% since June 2006. When this year started, many on Wall Street were looking for at least one reduction, but six months of data have failed to show convincingly that the economy has been suffering because of the current interest rate environment. Therefore, policymakers have been in a holding pattern.

Breadth improved from the prior Day's weak levels. About 2.45 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, as advancers topped decliners by a 5-to-3 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.65 billion shares, with winners outpacing losers 3 to 2.

Crude prices were on the rise again. Oil added $1 to close the week at $72.81 a barrel, its highest close since September. Natural gas lost 18 cents to $6.44 per million British thermal units after the latest inventory report.

Gold was higher by $4.20 to $654.80 an ounce, and silver added 18 cents to close at $12.75 an ounce.

As for the corporate side, Microsoft (MSFT:) said it would record a pretax charge of up to $1.15 billion in order to expand the warranty coverage for its Xbox 360 game consoles.

The company made the move because it has seen an "unacceptable number" of calls for repairs, and it said the warranty will go from one year to three years. Shares of Microsoft eased by 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $29.97.

Elsewhere, Advanced Medical Optics (EYE:) has offered to buy Bausch & Lomb (BOL:) for $75 a share, or more than $4 billion in total. The proposal is higher than a deal Bausch signed with private equity firm Warburg Pincus earlier this year.

Advanced Medical Optics dipped 0.1% to close at $35.85. Bausch & Lomb finished flat at $72.

Among analyst actions, Deutsche Bank upgraded Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A:) to buy from hold. Several firms cut their ratings on Hilton (HLT:) , saying they don't expect competing bids to emerge for the hotel chain.

Royal Dutch Shell added $2.29, or 2.8%, to $85.18. Despite the downgrades, Hilton managed to gain 32 cents, or 0.7%, to $45.71.

Overseas, Tokyo's Nikkei gave back 0.4%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.3%. London's FTSE rose 0.8%, and Frankfurt's DAX was better by 0.7%.

[setravis]

Stocks Get Pre-Earnings Boost.......


7/9/2007


Stocks in the U.S. logged modest gains Monday as traders geared up for the start of the second-quarter earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.29 points, or 0.28%, to 13,649.97. The index is now only 26 points below its record close of 13,676.32 set on June 4.

Sixteen of the Dow's 30 components were higher, led by a 1.7% gain in Alcoa (AA:) , whose second-quarter earnings report after the bell unofficially kicked off earnings season. Boeing (BA:) was also up after the company officially unveiled its new 787 Dreamliner plane.

Elsewhere, the S&P 500 edged up 1.41 points, or 0.09%, to 1531.85. The Nasdaq added 3.51 points, or 0.13%, to 2670.02.

In addition to Alcoa, this week will also feature names such as GE (GE:) , Genentech (DNA:) and Yum! Brands (YUM:) .

However, the number of reporting companies won't be as extreme in the next few days as it will be in the coming weeks.

"There's a generally positive feeling to the market, as people are expecting that second-quarter earnings will be better than expected," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment officer with Oaktree Asset Management. "There was some resistance as we got near record highs, as investors are cautious of buying at this level. With big names releasing earnings, though, we might see a trend where people push stocks to all-time highs."

Volume rose from Friday's levels. About 2.51 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, as advancers topped decliners by a 5-to-3 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.82 billion shares, with winners matching losers.

For stocks, Monday was a return to full-time trading after an abbreviated week that was marked by the Independence Day holiday. Last week, the Dow rose 1.8%. The S&P was up 1.5%, and the Nasdaq surged 2.4%.

Paul Nolte, director of investments with Hinsdale Associates, said that the upcoming earnings season will see "investors focused upon company's comments about the future, not so much of the past.

"The trading range that has existed over the past two months has been a boon to traders, however investors have been frustrated by the ''treadmill'' activity, running fast but going nowhere," he added. "The market internals have been deteriorating for a while; however so far, the ultimate arbiter of breaking down -- prices -- has not done so yet."

Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist with Cantor Fitzgerald, argued that there are some positive signs as investors brace for the torrent of earnings.

"There is an air of optimism out there. The averages are moving quietly under their 2007 highs," said Pado. "The Nasdaq has consistently led this rally and is in new rally high ground. This is the type of leadership we want to see for the July rally. If investors are willing to reach out for returns and take on added risk, then that bodes well for broader market."

Among the names in the news, Sony (SNE:) finished lower on word that the company will cut the price of its PlayStation 3 game console by $100 to $499. Sony gave back 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $53.04.

Printer maker Lexmark (LXK:) fell after warning on its second- and third-quarter results. The stock slid $3.15, or 6.4%, to $46.25.

Buybacks were back in focus, as Dow component Johnson & Johnson (JNJ:NYSE) said it will repurchase up to $10 billion of its stock. ConocoPhillips (COP:NYSE) followed suit by announcing a $15 billion buyback. Johnson & Johnson rose 59 cents, or 1%, to $62.72, while ConocoPhillips jumped $3.01, or 3.7%, to $84.05.

As for the Day's research calls, Home Depot (HD:) was upgraded to buy at Goldman Sachs, and Tyco (TYC:) was downgraded to sell at Citigroup. Still, Home Depot dipped 0.2% to $40.23, and Tyco slipped 3.6% to $51.25.

ThinkEquity lifted its price target on Google (GOOG:) to $700, and at the same time the firm cut its rating on Yahoo! (YHOO:) to accumulate from buy. Google tacked on 0.6% to $542.56, and Yahoo! finished up 0.4% at $27.20.

In the absence of any data on the economic docket, Treasury prices were rising slightly, pushing yields downward. The 10-year note was up 7/32 in price to yield 5.15%, and the 30-year bond added 9/32 to yield 5.24%.

Energy prices finished mixed. The front-month August contract eased 62 cents at $72.19 a barrel, while gasoline rose 3 cents at $2.34 a gallon.

Meanwhile, metals prices gained ground. Gold rose $7.70 to finish the day at $662.50 an ounce, and silver was higher by 6 cents at $12.82 an ounce.

Overseas, markets were higher. Tokyo's Nikkei climbed 0.7%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.3%. London's FTSE edged ahead 0.3%, and Frankfurt's DAX was rising 0.6%.

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Stocks Take a Beating.......


7/10/2007


Stocks in the U.S. slid sharply Tuesday as profit warnings, a record low for the dollar and subprime-market concerns combined to create a jittery atmosphere.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 148.27 points, or 1.09%, to 13,501.70, its worst point decline in nearly three weeks. The S&P 500 fell 21.73 points, or 1.42%, to 1510.12, and the Nasdaq dropped 30.86 points, or 1.16%, to 2639.16.

Breadth crumbled from the previous levels. About 2.46 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, as decliners topped advancers by a 3-to-1 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 2.17 billion shares, with losers outpacing winners 11 to 4.

The declines came amid warnings from retail giants Home Depot (HD:NYSE) and Sears Holdings (SHLD:Nasdaq) , as well as rising oil prices. In addition, the dollar descended to an all-time low against the euro.

A warning from Standard & Poor's that it could cut its rating on $12 billion in securities backed by subprime residential loans also raised concerns about the ongoing effects of the housing meltdown.

"That's a tremendous negative for the market, as it's the other shoe we've been waiting to drop," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist with Windham Financial. "People have started to liquidate, and the trend has accelerated. This subprime problem could really drain liquidity from the system, as $12 billion could be lost in loans. We don't know what the ramifications are."

Similarly, late in the day Moody's downgraded 399 residential mortgage-backed securities and placed an additional 32 securities under review for possible downgrades.

Among financials, Lehman Brothers (LEH:) fell 5%, Bear Stearns (BSC:) was down 4.1%, Merrill Lynch (MER:) gave back 3.5%, and Morgan Stanley (MS:) was lower by 3%.

The other big losing sector was retail, with the S&P Retail Index slumping 2.4%. Lowe's (LOW:) , Macy's (M:) , Kohl's (KSS:) and Wal-Mart (WMT:) all fell 1.9% or more.

The decline came after Home Depot lowered its earnings targets for the second half, saying that the weak housing market continues to hurt its results. The company expects earnings for the year to slide 15% to 18% from a year earlier, in part because of the recent sale of its supply business.

Sears Holdings also warned of weak second-quarter results, noting a soft performance in June. Sears'' shares dropped $17.20, or 10%, to finish at $154.21.

"After these earnings warnings, the market was set for a dismal day," said Jay Suskind, head of institutional equity trading with Ryan Beck. "There's a lot of negativity out there today. The market is near some record highs, and after this negative news we're re-evaluating positions."

Meanwhile, homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI:) added to ongoing concerns about the housing market. The company said that third-quarter home orders tumbled 40%, and it forecast a loss for the period. The stock shed 39 cents, or 2%, to finish at $19.40.

The major indices'' slide began to steepen after a 1 p.m. EDT speech in Massachusetts by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. But although Bernanke discussed inflation, no clear indications of Fed rate policy were discussed.

"Nothing Bernanke said had a direct impact on equities," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist with Spencer Clarke LLC. "Instead, for whatever reason, investors decided there were enough negative factors to turn everyone cautious. The negative earnings news created a cautious mood to start the day, and it's not surprising to see us back off further."

Treasury prices rose following Bernanke's remarks. The 10-year note was up 23/32 in price to yield 5.03%, while the 30-year bond was adding 1-12/32 and yielding 5.13%.

Crude oil continued its climb, spooking investors. August light sweet crude gained 62 cents to close at $72.81 a barrel. Gasoline rose 3 cents to $2.37 a gallon.

"When we got near $73 to $76 a barrel last time, the market came under tremendous pressure," said Mendelsohn. "We're now entering that very dangerous level for equities as oil keeps rising."

The market is coming off a day in which stocks rose modestly ahead of the earnings release from aluminum giant Alcoa (AA:) , whose report is viewed as the kickoff to earnings season.

The Dow rose 38.29 points, or 0.28%, to 13,649.97 Monday, ending just 26 points below its record close set on June 4. The S&P 500 inched up 1.41 points, or 0.09%, to 1531.85, and the Nasdaq added 3.51 points, or 0.13%, to 2670.02.

After the bell, Alcoa reported a 4% drop in second-quarter profits, meeting expectations. However, sales rose only 3% and missed Wall Street's target, and shares were off by 70 cents, or 1.7%, to close at $41.66.

Also late Monday, shareholders of the Chicago Board of Trade (BOT:) approved a planned buyout by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME:) , ending IntercontinentalExchange's (ICE:) quest to trump the deal with its own offer for the CBOT.

CBOT was lower by 1.5% to $219.45, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell 1.7% to $560.80. The IntercontinentalExchange dipped 0.7% to $155.73.

Among the Day's research calls, JPMorgan upgraded General Motors (GM:) to overweight from neutral. The firm also upgraded GM rival Ford (F:) to overweight from underweight. JPMorgan speculated that unions will help the automakers deal with rising costs from health care benefits.

GM added 64 cents, or 1.7%, to $37.41. Ford gained a penny, or 0.1%, to $9.09.

Among metals, gold was up $1.90 to $664.40 an ounce, while silver was higher by 15 cents to $12.97 an ounce.

Overseas, markets mostly lower. Tokyo's Nikkei dipped 0.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng tacked on 0.3%. London's FTSE fell 1.2%, and Frankfurt's DAX was losing 1.4%.

[setravis]

Mergers Give Stocks a Boost.......


7/11/2007


Stocks in New York rose Wednesday as new merger activity and lower oil prices helped traders take the first steps toward recovering from the prior session's steep decline.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 76.17 points, or 0.56%, at 13,577.87, and the S&P 500 added 8.64 points, or 0.57%, to 1518.76. The Nasdaq was better by 12.63 points, or 0.48%, to 2651.79.

That helped the market recover some of Tuesday's losses, when the Dow sank 148.27 points to 13,501.70, and the S&P gave back 21.73 points to 1510.12. The Nasdaq was worse by 30.86 points to 2639.16.

"We shook out yesterday and have recovered a bit today, so the basic trend looks intact," said Larry Wachtel, senior market analyst with Wachovia Securities. "The problems are still there, as questions on the subprime market and higher energy costs still linger. However, we are coming into earnings season, and we're expecting an underpromise-overdeliver period."

Breadth and volume improved from Tuesday's levels. About 3.06 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, as advancers matched decliners. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.99 billion shares, with winners topping losers 8 to 7.

One thing domestic stocks had going in their favor was more news on the buyout front, including a report that Canadian aluminum concern Alcan (AL:) has started talks with Rio Tinto (RTP:) . Alcan is fighting a takeover bid from Pittsburgh's Alcoa (AA:) .

Rio Tinto climbed 2.4% to $323.07, Alcoa ended up 1.5% to $42.28, and Alcan rose by 3.9% to $89.53.

Aside from that potential blockbuster, a number of small deals were also in the headlines. Chaparral Steel (CHAP:) agreed to be acquired by Gerdau Ameristeel (GNA:) for $86 a share. Chaparral jumped 10.4% to close at $83.59, while Gerdau slid 7.3% to $14.55.

Elsewhere, Megasoft set plans to buy Boston Communications (BCGI:) for $3.60 a share, or $65 million in total, and Digital Music Group (DMGI:) struck a merger arrangement with Orchard Enterprises. Boston Communications soared 70.4% to $3.39, and Digital Music Group surged 12.5% to $4.49.

But other potential tie-ups have hit snags. Student lender Sallie Mae (SLM:NYSE) said its private-equity acquirers have warned that pending legislation may lead them to pull out of a planned $25 billion buyout. Shares tumbled $5.65, or 9.8%, to $52.15.

Earlier, Ventana Medical (VMSI:) said its board has rejected Roche's unsolicited $75-a-share takeover bid. Ventana finished higher by $2.03, or 2.5%, to $82.28.

Earnings got under way this week, and among the Day's early reporters, Infosys (INFY:) beat estimates for the second quarter and lifted its guidance. Wolverine (WWW:) was in line with expectations, and AAR Corp. (AIR:) topped analyst targets by a penny.

As for the Day's research calls, UBS upgraded Yum! Brands (YUM:) to buy from neutral. JPMorgan downgraded video-game maker Activision (ATVI:) to neutral from overweight.

Yum! Brands added $1.61, or 4.9%, to $34.41 ahead of its earnings report after the bell. Despite the downgrade, Activision gained 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $19.24.

Treasury prices fell hard, reversing the previous session's gain. The 10-year note was down 14/32 in price to yield 5.09%, while the 30-year bond was losing 30/32 and yielding 5.19%.

As for commodities, energy prices finished lower in the wake of the Energy Department's weekly inventory report, which showed an unexpected build of 1.2 million barrels in gasoline inventories last week. Distillate stocks rose 800,000 barrels, and crude inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels. Refinery utilization rose to 90.2%, but was below estimates.

The front-month August contract lost 25 cents to $72.56 a barrel, and gasoline ended down by 6 cents to $2.30 a gallon.

Metals prices were little changed. Gold eased by $2.30 at $662.10 an ounce, and silver was flat at $12.97 an ounce.

Overseas, markets were uniformly lower. Tokyo's Nikkei dropped 1.1%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 1.2%. London's FTSE fell 0.2%, and Frankfurt's DAX was losing 0.8%.

[setravis]

On the way to 14000.......
Last time we hit the 13-day MA we started back up.
Doesn't look like sellers are banging down the exit doors.
The other indices look good.The Chinese don't give a s#*# what Alan thinks.

Someone really lit the bulls tail on fire this time !
On the way to 14000.......and I still feel this way...If it will pass 13850 we are good to go !

I still believe, we will see 14,000 ........What say you ? 
Oh, I think we closed @ 13,861, that's above that 13,850"We are good to go" in the quote up there...now don't let me down !!


Stocks Hurtle to New Records.......


7/12/2007


A host of corporate news, from retail sales to a giant merger in the metals patch, sent stocks surging Thursday and lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average into the record books.

The Dow Jones soared by 283.96 points, or 2.09%, to 13,861.73, marking the first time the index has passed the 13,800 mark and shattering the old high of 13,676.32 that was set on June 4.

For the industrials, it was the biggest single-day point gain in more than four years. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 gained 28.94 points, or 1.91%, to 1547.70 and also hit its best-ever point. The Nasdaq Composite was ahead by 49.94 points, or 1.88%, at 2701.73.

The big jump came after mostly stronger-than-expected monthly chain-store sales and a deal in the raw-materials space, where mining concern Rio Tinto (RTP:) reached a deal to buy aluminum producer Alcan (AL:) for $38 billion. Alcan climbed 9.9% to $98.45, while Rio Tinto lost 2.1% to close at $317.71.

Earlier this year, Alcoa (AA:) began an effort to acquire Alcan, but the target company didn't like the terms and rejected the approach. Shares of Alcoa, a Dow component, jumped 6.7% to $45.29 on speculation it may be a buyout target itself. After the closing bell, Alcoa confirmed it would drop its hostile bid for Alcan.

Robert Pavlik, chief investment officer with Oaktree Asset Management, said it was more than just retail and M&A activity powering the market, "although it gave us a good start."

"Investors believe the economy is doing a lot better than they initially expected," he said. "We saw the intense chasing of stocks. People want to be fully invested, and they are getting out of safe havens and pouring into this very strong market."

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist with Avalon Partners, argued that the focus on M&A activity and earnings drove the market, despite a few disappointments in retail news and earnings results.

"Those companies that have issued weaker earnings and guidance have already been built into expectations, so we're still hoping that earnings will be strong and will drive this market," he said.

Cardillo said, though, that the two spoilers that could weigh on stocks would be continuing declines in the dollar and higher oil prices.

Earlier, crude marched past the $73-a-barrel level before retreating. The front-month August contract ended with a loss of 6 cents at $72.50 a barrel. Gasoline shed 4 cents to $2.26 a gallon.

Retailers got a boost from June sales reports that topped analysts'' lackluster expectations. Among the winners was Wal-Mart (WMT:) , which surprised analysts after it said comp sales climbed 2.4% in June. Wall Street had expected a 0.8% rise. The company also backed its second-quarter guidance and said it expects same-store sales to climb 1% to 2% in July. Wal-Mart closed higher by $1.15, or 2.4%, to $48.83.

Rival Target's (TGT:) same-store sales rose 3.3% last month. The retailer also said it expects July comp sales to be up 5% to 7%. Target added $4.44, or 6.8%, to end the day at $70.04.

Among other retail winners, Costco (COST:) said June same-store sales increased 6%, and Nordstrom's (JWN:) rose 2%. J.C. Penney (JCP:NYSE) recorded a 1.5% decline, but that was better than Wall Street's expectation for a 3.6% drop.

Department-store operator Macy's (M:) , formerly known as Federated, said last month's same-store sales declined 2.7%, and the company predicted that its second-quarter results would probably fall short of expectations. Gap (GPS:) posted a greater-than-expected 5% decline in comp sales last month.

The market's breadth and volume improved from Wednesday's levels. About 3.41 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, as advancers topped decliners by a 7-to-3 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 2.17 billion shares, with winners outpacing losers 7 to 3.

The Day's gains mark a big comeback from a sharp drop Tuesday. On Wednesday, that recovery began with the Dow gaining 76.17 points to 13,577.87. The S&P 500 was up 8.64 points to 1518.76, and the Nasdaq climbed 12.63 points to 2651.79.

The week's wobbliness came after a rather uninspiring start to earnings season, but the latest round of reports showed strength. Marriott International (MAR:) said its second-quarter profit rose 11.2% from a year ago, beating Wall Street's estimates. Following the previous session's close, Genentech (DNA:) posted a 41% rise in second-quarter earnings and exceeded expectations.

Despite the earnings beat, Marriott finished lower by 2.8% at $45.04 after it reduced the upper end of its revenue growth forecast. Genentech, meanwhile, lost 0.9% to close at $75.26.

Investors were also facing the first major economic reports of the week. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 308,000 last week. The less-volatile four-week moving average decreased by 1,500 claims to 317,750.

At the same time, the Commerce Department didn't surprise analysts when its report on the U.S. trade balance showed that the country's deficit came in at $60 billion in May, up from a revised $58.7 billion in April.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist with High Frequency Economics, said that trade should add about 1% to headline second-quarter gross domestic product growth.

"Both exports and imports rebounded after their unexpected April declines, by 2.2% and 2.3%, respectively," said Shepherdson. " [May''s number] reversed only a quarter of the April drop in the core deficit, so the downward trend remains, thanks mostly to the slowdown in import demand."

Following the data, Treasuries were subdued. The 10-year note was down 9/32 in price, yielding 5.12%, and the 30-year bond was off 10/32, yielding 5.21%.

Overseas, markets were mostly higher, but Tokyo's Nikkei shed 0.4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.9%, London's FTSE added 1.3%, and Frankfurt's DAX climbed on 2%.


Below are the 6 month, 1 year, 2 year and 3 year Charts.......

[setravis]

Stocks Roll to New Records.......
On the way to 14,000 Baby...


7/13/2007


The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 pushed farther into record territory Friday as stronger-than-expected consumer sentiment data helped lure in more buyers after a session of giant gains.

The Dow was up 45.52 points, or 0.33%, at 13,907.25, and the S&P gained 5.27 points, or 0.2%, to 1552.50. The Nasdaq Composite added 4.80 points, or 0.31%, at 2707.

Blue-chip indices opened little changed but quickly turned higher after the 10 a.m. EDT release of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index. The preliminary July reading for the index came in at 92.4, up from 85.3 in June and well above economists'' expectations.

Following the data, Treasury prices were on the rise, lowering yields. The 10-year note added 5/32 in price, yielding 5.10%, and the 30-year bond was up 17/32, yielding 5.17%.

Breadth and volume weakened from the last session's impressive levels. About 2.81 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, as advancers barely edged decliners. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.77 billion shares, with losers topping winners 8 to 7.

On Thursday, the Dow jumped 283.96 points, or 2.09%, to 13,861.73, its first time above 13,800 and its biggest one-day advance in four years. The S&P soared 28.94 points, or 1.91%, to 1547.70 for its own record.

The Nasdaq rocketed up 49.94 points, or 1.88%, to 2701.73.

"It was a market melt-up yesterday," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist with Windham Financial. "All sectors participated, and everything moved higher. The market has shrugged off the subprime issue, and while earnings are decelerating, they're still coming in better than expected."

After a steep decline Tuesday, the major averages managed to bounce back strong. Over the five sessions, the Dow rose 2.2%, and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished higher by 1.5%.

"The market loves to climb a wall of worry, and that's what happened this week," said Jay Suskind, head of institutional equity trading with Ryan Beck & Co. "As long as people are worried about the market going up, it'll keep going. I'm surprised by this week's action, and as we go into a rich week of earnings on Monday, we'll see how we trade off of that."

Several other economic reports influenced the tone. In one of them, the Labor Department said business inventories rose 0.5% in May, ahead of estimates.

However, not all of the data points were rosy. The Commerce Department said retail sales fell 0.9% last month, the largest decline in nearly two years and triple what economists had anticipated. Excluding autos, retail sales were down 0.4% in June, compared with expectations of a 0.2% rise.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist with High Frequency Economics, said the report shows that rising gas prices are hurting the sector, and there's more pain to come.

"June sales were depressed by a 2.3% drop in building materials, which had jumped 4.7% in May," he said. "There were declines in furniture, electronics, clothing and department stores, too. The trend in the level of sales is still rising, but at a slowing pace."

Separately, the government said its import price index rose 1% in June, higher than expected. Petroleum prices climbed 4.7% for the month, boosting the headline number. Over the past year, import prices have risen 2.3%.

Turning to stocks, mergers and acquisitions have been a key component to the market's rally in the past few months, and the pace of deals appears to be holding steady.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the Dutch Supreme Court has ruled that ABN Amro (ABN:) may sell its U.S.-based LaSalle Bank to Bank of America (BAC:) without shareholders having to vote. Shares of ABN rose 3.9% to $50.50, while Bank of America slipped 0.1% to $49.50.

Elsewhere, Energizer Holdings (ENR:) reached an agreement to acquire Playtex Products (PYX:) for $18.30 a share in cash and the assumption of debt. The total value of the transaction is roughly $1.9 billion. Playtex surged 15.8% to end the day at $17.97, and Energizer was higher by 0.9% to $107.67.

The prior session saw Rio Tinto (RTP:) come in with a $38 billion bid for Alcan (AL:) , trumping a rival offer from Alcoa (AA:) . After the close, Alcoa said it would end its pursuit of the Canadian company.

Rio Tinto slumped 4.3% to $304.14, and Alcan fell 1% to $97.50. Alcoa jumped 4.6% to $47.35.

Meanwhile, General Electric (GE:) posted second-quarter earnings of 52 cents a share and revenue of $42.3 billion. At the same time, the company increased its buyback to $14 billion for 2007. Analysts were looking for a profit of 52 cents and a top line of $41.7 billion for the quarter.

GE projected third-quarter earnings from continuing operations of 54 cents to 56 cents a share, up 15% to 19% from last year and in line with expectations. The company reaffirmed its guidance for the full year, and shares climbed 50 cents, or 1.3%, to $39.50.

Another company with a sizable repurchase was Amgen (AMGN:) , which said it will increase its own program by $5 billion. Amgen added 98 cents, or 1.8%, to finish the week at $56.93.

Among commodities, crude pushed closer to $74 a barrel. The front-month August contract was up $1.43 to close at $73.93 a barrel. Gasoline prices were down 4 cents at $2.22 a gallon.

Overseas, markets were higher. Tokyo's Nikkei added 1.4%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was better by 1.3%. London's FTSE tacked on 0.3%, and Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.5%.

[setravis]

I smell that 14,000... Don't let me down Markets...

People want a summer rally and they are going make it happen.
Yesterday and today they ignored oil prices, weak dollar, gold, and debt. Even financials were up?
I suspect people will set around this weekend thinking and buy again next week.
It as been my experience; "the best way to spot a true bottom of a dip is when buyers start ignoring bad news." Well Wednesday was the dip.

The rally was across the board, all 3 markets.......
Very important, notice the buy/sell volume at the peaks.
Wednesday, buyer volume was up! This tells me the up pressure is there.
That means this rally may have legs. More up side than down side coming.

The tiny PPO chart says you ain't seen nothing yet. 1000 more?

The only way we can protect ourselves is to watch the charts to detect massive selling.

I don't mean to sound sure about this, but that appears to be a continuation pattern in the Dow chart. This is a very strong bull market until you see the big high volume reversal where the shorts capitulate. that seems to be a long way off to me. Ive heard some cycle predictions of January 08 for the start of a meaningful slide.

Technicals
Record Price High

Last Price Quote is:
2.07%above 13-day MA
3.68%above 50-day MA

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE IN 

Index Value: 13,907.25
Trade Time: 4:03PM ET
Change:  45.52 (0.33%)
Prev Close: 13,861.73
Open: 13,859.86
Day's Range: 13845.88 - 13932.29
52wk Range: 11,255.90 - 13,982.90

[setravis]

Bulls Take a Step Back.......


7/16/2007


Stocks came under pressure Monday as higher crude oil prices dampened some of the recent enthusiasm, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average did manage to work its way to yet another record-setting close.

The Dow added 43.73 points, or 0.31%, to 13,950.98, helped by gains of more than 2.2% in Verizon (VZ:NYSE) and United Technologies (UTX:NYSE) . The blue-chip average had climbed as high as 13,989.03, a gain of 82 points, before pulling back.

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite relinquished early gains and moved lower. The S&P was down 2.98 points, or 0.19%, to 1549.52. The Nasdaq lost 9.67 points, or 0.36%, at 2697.33.

About 2.76 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, and volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.78 billion shares. Losers topped advancers 2 to 1.

On Friday, the Dow rose 45.52 points, or 0.33%, to 13,907.25, and the S&P advanced 5.27 points, or 0.2%, to 1552.50, putting both at all-time highs. The Nasdaq gained 4.80 points, or 0.31%, at 2707, its best point in more than six years.

However, crude's push above $74 a barrel weighed on sentiment when the new week began. The front-month August contract added 22 cents to close at $74.15 a barrel. Gasoline prices, meanwhile, were off 10 cents at $2.13 a gallon.

Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist with Cantor Fitzgerald, said that the Day's action is some position-squaring ahead of earnings, but that the market has a solid base for support and downside risk should be minimal.

"It may be a bit disconcerting that the market has ignored some fairly obvious warning signs, such as the run in crude, but there are also some technical factors that we are likely to start hearing about," he said. "The low volume on the rally is one negative issue, although I would be willing to discount the volume on this rally because it is the heat of the summer. Trading is always lighter than normal during vacation months."

As a new week unfolded, a host of earnings news was on tap. Eaton (ETN:) beat estimates by a wide margin and raised its full-year guidance, and Mattel (MAT:) was roughly in line with analysts'' targets.

Eaton climbed 2.8% to $100.87, and Mattel was higher by 2.5% to $27.20.

Shares of Dow component McDonald's (MCD:) gained 0.4% to close at $52.10 after the restaurant chain said June same-store sales rose 8.4%. McDonald's also said that it expects a second-quarter loss of 60 cents a share due to a license transaction in Latin America and the Caribbean, but that earnings should top analysts'' estimates once the charge is stripped out.

Later this week, quarterly reports are due from the likes of Microsoft (MSFT:) , Intel (INTC:) , Merrill Lynch (MER:) and Citigroup (C:) .

More deals were making headlines.

IHOP (IHP:) has agreed to buy fellow restaurant chain Applebee's (APPB:) in a $2.1 billion deal, and a group led by Royal Bank of Scotland said it still wants to top Barclays (BCS:) in the bidding for ABN Amro (ABN:) .

IHOP jumped 8.9% to $61.24, and Applebee's was higher by 2.2% to $24.91. Barclays eased 0.02% to $59.24, while ABN Amro gained 1.1% to $51.03.

Meanwhile, Ford (F:) is said to be mulling the sale of its Volvo division, while Vodafone (VOD:) spent the morning refuting rumors that it has been considering the acquisition of Verizon.

Ford finished down 1.2% at $8.86. Vodafone shed 1.1% to $33.15, while Verizon rose 2.4% to end the day at $42.76.

Elsewhere, the Financial Times said BHP Billiton (BHP:) is exploring a possible offer for Alcoa (AA:) in the wake of Rio Tinto's (RTP:) plan to buy Alcan (AL:) .

Separately, London's Times newspaper said shareholders want to see Alcoa pursue a deal with either BHP or CVRD (RIO:) . BHP Billiton finished down 1.8% to $66.76, and CVRD fell 2.3% to $50.76. Alcoa was off 1.2% to end at $46.77.

Investors were also digesting the first of many economic reports this week. The New York Federal Reserve Bank said its Empire State survey rose to a reading of 26.5 in July from 25.8 in June. Economists had expected a decline to 18.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist with High Frequency Economics, said the survey is so volatile that it's hard to give much weight to a single observation.

"It has manifestly not been a leading indicator of the [Institute for Supply Management's factory survey] in recent months," he said. "Moreover, even the medium-term relationship between the headline index and the ISM appears to have changed over the past couple of years, making it even harder to draw any robust conclusions from the survey."

Treasuries were showing gains. The 10-year note was up 13/32 in price, yielding 5.04%, and the 30-year bond added 27/32, yielding 5.13%.

Overseas, stocks were mixed. Tokyo's Nikkei was closed for a holiday, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng eased 0.6%. London's FTSE ticked down 0.3%, and Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.2%.

[setravis]

   14002.36........+51.38 

Open.........13951.96
High.......... 14011.79
Low...........13942.85
Prev Close.13950.98   

[setravis]

Dow Stymied at 14,000.......


7/17/2007


The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly got through the 14,000 mark Tuesday -- less than three months after it first crossed 13,000 -- but the index was having trouble holding on to the newest big round number.

Lately, the Dow was gaining 42 points, or 0.3%, to 13,993. The S&P 500 was up 3.5 points, or 0.2%, at 1553, and the Nasdaq was better by 11.5 points, or 0.4%, at 2709.

Jay Suskind, head of institutional trading with Ryan Beck & Co., said that while breaking the 14,000 seems like it's only a headline grabber, the market's movement over the last three months should be acknowledged as impressive.

"Dow 14,000 shows the underlying strength of the market, but I don't think it's that big of a deal if we don't close above that level," he said. "It's certainly more a psychological level for traders than anything, and it may even take several tries before we can close above this level, but these gains are pretty remarkable."

Even though the industrials got jittery just after hitting their most recent record intraday high, the bulls still had the upper hand thanks to solid earnings and another round of merger activity.

The Dow, which only achieved 13,000 April 25, is coming off its third straight best finish of all time. On Monday, the index rose 43.73 points, or 0.31%, to 13,950.98.

Also during the previous session, the S&P reached an intraday record before retreating, ending down 2.98 points, or 0.19%, to 1549.52. The Nasdaq slipped 9.67 points, or 0.36%, at 2697.33, but remains near its strongest point in more than six years.

Energy prices again were on the rise, as crude made its push above $75 a barrel. The front-month August contract was higher by 99 cents to $75.14 a barrel. Gasoline prices were up 3 cents at $2.15 a gallon.

Meanwhile, earnings were beginning to flow in at full force, but dealmaking news managed to steal some of the spotlight.

Late Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that News Corp. (NWS:) has reached a tentative deal to buy the paper's parent company Dow Jones (DJ:) for $5 billion. However, the report said some of the Bancrofts, the family that controls Dow, still had reservations.

News Corp. was higher by 42 cents, or 1.8%, to $24.05. Dow Jones was dipping by 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $56.86.

Elsewhere, Basell of the Netherlands, whose offer for Huntsman (HUN:) was recently turned down, agreed to acquire Lyondell (LYO:) for $48 a share, or more than $12 billion. Lyondell was surging $6.69, or 16.7%, to $46.81.

In the energy sector, Plains Exploration (PXP:) said it would take over rival Pogo Producing (PPP:) in a cash and stock deal valued at $3.6 billion. Plains Exploration was falling 4.7% to $48.81, while Pogo Producing jumped nearly 14% to $57.51.

As for earnings, Coca-Cola (KO:) topped analysts'' second-quarter estimates and said revenue jumped to $7.73 billion from $6.48 billion a year earlier. The stock was shedding 22 cents, or 0.4%, to $53.63.

Merrill Lynch (MER:) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ:) were also better than expected, as were KeyCorp (KEY:) and State Street (STT:) .

Novartis (NVS:) , though, lowered its forecast. Shares were recently losing $1.11, or 2%, to $54.34.

On the research front, UBS upgraded three major airlines, taking AMR (AMR:) , Delta (DAL:) and United Airlines (UAUA:) to neutral ratings from reduce.

Even with the abundance of corporate news, both stock and bond traders also had to contend with incoming data for clues about inflation and the overall health of the economy. Before the opening bell, the Labor Department said its producer price index for June showed that inflation ticked higher at the wholesale level.

The headline index fell 0.2%, below projections for a 0.2% rise. The core index, which excludes food and energy, rose a greater-than-expected 0.3%. The core rate has advanced 1.8% year over year, up from May's 1.6% rise, but within the Federal Reserve's comfort range for inflation of 1% to 2%.

"The May and June surges in core producer prices indicate higher energy prices and slower productivity growth are filtering through to the wholesale prices businesses pay," said Peter Morici, professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission. "This bodes poorly for [keeping] core consumer price inflation down below Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's target."

On Wednesday, the consumer price index, viewed as the more important of the two measures, will be out. The report will come just as Bernanke heads to Capitol Hill for two days of Congressional testimony.

Also on the economic docket, the Fed said industrial production rose 0.5% last month, matching estimates. Capacity utilization climbed to 81.7% from 81.4%, slightly above the consensus target.

Following the data, Treasury prices were slightly lower. The 10-year note was down 7/32 in price, yielding 5.07%, and the 30-year bond was losing 10/32, yielding 5.15%.

Markets overseas were mostly weaker, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng tacked on 0.5%. Tokyo's Nikkei slipped 0.1%. London's FTSE lost 0.5%, and Frankfurt's DAX shed 0.9%.

[setravis]

Dow Fails to Hold 14,000.......

7/17/2007


The Dow Jones Industrial Average marched past the 14,000 mark for the first time ever Tuesday -- less than three months after it crossed 13,000 -- but it wasn't able to hold on.

Several times during trading the Dow went above the milestone. However, by the close it was showing a gain of just 20.57 points, or 0.15%, at 13,971.55. Still that was good enough for a fourth straight record finish.

The Nasdaq was better by 14.96 points, or 0.55%, at 2712.29. The S&P 500 lagged, easing by 0.15 point, or 0.01%, to close at 1549.37.

Jay Suskind, head of institutional trading with Ryan Beck & Co., said that while breaking 14,000 seems like merely a headline grabber, the market's movement over the last three months should be acknowledged as impressive.

"Dow 14,000 shows the underlying strength of the market, but I don't think it's that big of a deal if we don't close above that level," he said earlier. "It's certainly more a psychological level for traders than anything, and it may even take several tries before we can close above this level, but these gains are pretty remarkable."

The Dow, which achieved 13,000 in late April, was coming off a day in which it rose 43.73 points, or 0.31%, to 13,950.98. Also during the previous session, the S&P reached an intraday record before retreating, ending down 2.98 points to 1549.52. The Nasdaq slipped 9.67 points, or 0.36%.

Volume rose compared to the previous session. About 3.02 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, as decliners topped advancers by a 9-to-7 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 2.20 billion shares, with losers matching winners.

Energy prices made a push above $75 a barrel, but the front-month August contract took a turn south and was down 13 cents to $74.02 a barrel. Gasoline prices fell 2.5 cents to $2.10 a gallon.

Meanwhile, earnings were beginning to flow in at full force, but dealmaking news managed to steal some of the spotlight.

The Wall Street Journal reported that News Corp. (NWS:) has reached a tentative deal to buy the paper's parent company Dow Jones (DJ:) for $5 billion. However, the report said some of the Bancrofts, the family that controls Dow, still had reservations.

News Corp. was higher by 62 cents, or 2.6%, to close at $24.25. Dow Jones eased 50 cents, or 0.9%, to $56.45.

Elsewhere, Basell of the Netherlands, whose offer for Huntsman (HUN:) was recently turned down, agreed to acquire Lyondell (LYO:) for $48 a share, or more than $12 billion. Lyondell surged $6.93, or 17.3%, to $47.05.

In the energy sector, Plains Exploration (PXP:) said it would take over rival Pogo Producing (PPP:) in a cash and stock deal valued at $3.6 billion. Plains Exploration fell 6.5% to $47.88, while Pogo Producing jumped 13.9% to close at $57.50.

As for earnings, Coca-Cola (KO:) topped analysts'' second-quarter estimates and said revenue jumped to $7.73 billion from $6.48 billion a year earlier. The stock shed 68 cents, or 1.3%, to $53.17.

Merrill Lynch (MER:) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ:) were also better than expected, as were KeyCorp (KEY:) and State Street (STT:) .

Novartis (NVS:) , though, lowered its forecast. Shares ended the day with a loss of $1.32, or 2.4%, to $54.13.

The earnings torrent continues Wednesday, with releases expected from Altria (MO:) , eBay (EBAY:) , JPMorgan Chase (JPM:) and Pfizer (PFE:) , among others.

On the research front, UBS upgraded three major airlines, taking AMR (AMR:) , Delta (DAL:) and United Airlines (UAUA:) to neutral ratings from reduce.

Even with the abundance of corporate news, both stock and bond traders also had to contend with incoming data for clues about the overall health of the economy. Before the opening bell, the Labor Department said its producer price index for June showed that inflation ticked higher at the wholesale level.

The headline index fell 0.2%, below projections for a 0.2% rise. The core index, which excludes food and energy, rose a greater-than-expected 0.3%. The core rate has advanced 1.8% year over year, up from May's 1.6% rise, but within the Federal Reserve's comfort range for inflation of 1% to 2%.

"The May and June surges in core producer prices indicate higher energy prices and slower productivity growth are filtering through to the wholesale prices businesses pay," said Peter Morici, professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission. "This bodes poorly for [keeping] core consumer price inflation down below Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's target."

A day from now, the consumer price index, viewed as the more important of the two measures, will be out. The report will come just as Bernanke heads to Capitol Hill for two days of Congressional testimony.

Also on the economic docket, the Fed said industrial production rose 0.5% last month, matching estimates. Capacity utilization climbed to 81.7% from 81.4%, slightly above the consensus target.

Following the data, Treasury prices were slightly lower. The 10-year note was down 10/32 in price, yielding 5.07%, and the 30-year bond lost 15/32, yielding 5.16%.

Markets overseas were mostly weaker, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng tacked on 0.5%. Tokyo's Nikkei slipped 0.1%. London's FTSE lost 0.6%, and Frankfurt's DAX shed 0.8%.