STOCK MARKET WATCH, MONDAY AUGUST 18.....(#1)

[ozymandius]

Monday August 18, 2003

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 523
REICH-WING RUBBERSTAMP-Congress = DAY 278
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2 YEARS, 250 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1 YEAR, 308 DAYS
WHERE'S SADDAM? WHERE ARE THE WMD'S? - DAY 150
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 634
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 17
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 0
Other Arrests of Execs = 53

U.S. FUTURES & MARKETS INDICATORS
NASDAQ FUTURES-----------------------------S&P FUTURES




AT THE CLOSING BELL ON August 15, 2003

Dow 9,321.69 +11.13 (+0.12%)
Nasdaq 1,702.01 +1.67 (+0.10%)
S&P 500..... 990.67 +0.16 (+0.02%)
10-Year Bond 4.53% -0.06 (-1.26%)
Gold future...... 363.50 -1.20 (-0.33%)

DOW..........................NASDAQ.......................S&P

||


GOLD, EURO, YEN and Dollars


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PIEHOLE ALERT

Heads Up!
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For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

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[ozymandius]

1. WrapUp by Mike Hartman

Rubber-Band Stretched a Little Too Tight!

This morning started-out somewhat different from the norm. Most observers will admit that the power failures in the Northeast have been an inconvenience, and even viewed as a nice distraction from work as we head into the weekend. Many of the exchanges opened late today with traders having difficulty getting to work and now they are closing early to go home and jump in the pool as the power gradually comes back on-line. The productivity numbers have been so good in the USA lately; we might as well just call it a week. The lazy summer doldrums on Wall Street are drawing to a close. It’s almost time to gear-up for back-to-school and the anticipated increase in market volatility that usually arrives in late September and October.

When I turned on the T.V. this morning to check-in on the pre-market activity, the reporter came on screen with a distinguished British accent saying, “U.S. industrial production was up not point five in July while expectations were for a gain of not point two.” It seems Bloomberg News was forced to broadcast the edition from the United Kingdom due to outages in New York. Along with the report of industrial production increasing 0.5% in July, it was clearly stated that the rise in production was mainly due to output at the nation’s utilities, which rose 3.9% in July. Hello Heat Wave!! Looks like the utilities stretched the rubber-band just a little too tight!

Stocks, Bonds, the Dollar

Today the markets couldn’t be any quieter unless they were completely closed. I mean it looks like the whole world has gone home early. Everything is sitting at breakeven for the day with 45 minutes to go. The Dow, NASDAQ, Treasury Bonds and the U.S. Dollar are all sitting right where they opened. It’s a strange day. It’s almost too easy to call this “the calm before the storm.” I’m fascinated to see what October will bring this year.

more...

[JNelson6563]

2. heh heh October Surprise??

It’s almost too easy to call this “the calm before the storm.” I’m fascinated to see what October will bring this year.

Aren't we all?

Hell, I'm fascinated to see what today brings!

Julie

[JNelson6563]

3. Lowes posts decent #s

Lowe's Posts Higher Quarterly Profit
Monday August 18, 7:06 am ET

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Lowe's Cos. (NYSE:LOW - News), the No. 2 home improvement retailer behind Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD - News), on Monday posted higher second-quarter profit, fueled by increased marketing and its expansion into large U.S. markets.
Lowe's, based in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, had net income of $597 million, or 75 cents a share, compared with $467 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier. Analysts' average forecast was 69 cents per share, according to Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.

Sales rose 17 percent. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 6.9 percent, improving over the first quarter's scant 0.1 percent rise.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/030818/retail_lowes_earns_1.html

I wonder what UofM's Consumer Confidence #s will tell us tomorrow.

Julie

[radfringe]

4. the increase in gas prices

are going to put a crimp in things...

It may only be August, but watch for the "...higher prices due to switch to winter blend..." excuse

What does this mean for the winter and household budgets??? Higher heating fuel costs will cut into home budgets.

I'll say it again... "People can dispose of income if they have NO disposible income..."

higher fuel costs will also "tinkle down" to higher prices for consumer goods... The job-LOSS recovery will take a hit

Meanwhile... the recent BLACK-OUT... looking into my Magic 8-Ball:
Power companies will cry "poor mouth"...can't afford to upgrade the grid and related facilities - AWOL and the repugs will "bail them out" - this means increasing the federal deficit and it will "tinkle-down" to the consumer in higher power bills....just in time for winter.

AWOL and the repugs will blame the Dem's. AWOL and repugs will push for ANWR drilling and even more de-regulation, Cheney will get "kudos" from his connections as they are awarded contracts.

War drums will beat louder to go after other mid-east countries under the guise of rooting out terra-ists

hey hey hey follow the oil slick

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

7. What is the answer...

They are giving for the higher gas prices? I know I haven't seen one. I do know it's tracking somewhat closely to the fall in natural gas prices, which leads me to believe that someone is manipulating markets.

[JNelson6563]

8. you win the prize

for most accurate predictions Rad.

Good to see the invasion of the in-laws didn't put a crimp in your ability to see the future nor your eloquent ways of sharing these prophesies with us. ;-) Hope the visit went well.

Julie

[ozymandius]

5. I am gone for most of the day.

My son starts day care today. I'll check back later this afternoon to see how things are stirring.

Ozymandius

[JNelson6563]

6. See ya Ozy!

I'll be in and out too but should be able to keep things updated.

Thanks for kicking off the thread! :hi:

Julie

[catzies]

9. kick to 1st page

:kick:

[Coventina]

10. The "I Ching" on today's market

Hi everyone!

Sorry this is so late. I've got so much going on, I almost forgot to do today's reading! Probably somewhat in line with that, Ching didn't seem to want to talk about the market. Ching instead is addressing my work situation. However, some of the advice can fit here as well, I think.

Today's hexagrams are CENSORSHIP changing to REPEATING. The message of Censorship usually refers to self-censorship, as in watching your mouth (I have a tendency to shoot it off when I'm angry, and I've been angry at work a lot lately!). The changing line reads, "Proceed carefully." Definitely applicable to the market!

Repeating is about returning to the start after a period of stagnation or illness. This DEFINITELY applies to me personally, but also certainly could apply to the economy as well. Ching's advice about this is, "Don't push. The improving situation will continue to develop at its own pace."

Based on this, I'm going to predict small gains for the day.

By the way, here in Phoenix the gas situation is getting silly. Half our local news is listing gas stations that still have gas. Has this made the national news?

[Changenow]

11. These are strange times.

Is this more irrational exuberance? If it is why are people taking on faith what they should know by now to be false?

[mrsteve]

12. 2:05 numbers - up, up and away...

Yeeow! Somebody's been eating their Wheaties!

Dow 9,417.00 +95.31 (+1.02%)
Nasdaq 1,732.10 +30.09 (+1.77%)
S&P 500 999.82 +9.15 (+0.92%)
10-Yr Bond 4.499% -0.029

Yahoo Finance happy-talk:

"2:00PM: Relatively quiet trade persists but the tech sectors that paced the way higher this morning - namely, semiconductor, wireless, internet, telecom, and computer hardware - are holding near their respective highs... The limited pullback is encouraging and leaves the door open for another push to new highs later this afternoon... While the Nasdaq has posted the largest gains today (+1.5% versus +0.7% for the S&P 500), the small-cap issues have not lagged far behind... Specifically, the Russell 2000 has climbed 1.4% in an extension of its recent winning streak..."

[JNelson6563]

13. build up for profit taking?

tomorrow come the Consumer #s so perhaps some prepare to take a hit?

Should we take bets? ;-)

Julie--checkin' in

[Changenow]

14. If confidence declines

the market will climb.

[mrsteve]

16. How so?

Consumer confidence down -> consumer buying down -> stock marker down

Or am I missing something?

[Changenow]

18. It seems that bad news makes the market jump these days.

Who knows what's going on.

[mrsteve]

15. Hmmm..today could be a sucker's bubble

If those consumer numbers tomorrow look bad enough

Dow 9,411.05 +89.36 (+0.96%)
Nasdaq 1,733.44 +31.43 (+1.85%)
S&P 500 999.43 +8.76 (+0.88%)
10-Yr Bond 4.495% -0.033

Sill floating high today, though.

[mrsteve]

17. 3:40 and it's still all up in the air

Dow 9,407.19 +85.50 (+0.92%)
Nasdaq 1,736.40 +34.39 (+2.02%)
S&P 500 999.38 +8.71 (+0.88%)
10-Yr Bond 4.477% -0.051

Yahoo Fi again:

"3:30PM: So far, sellers haven't put up much of a fight as the indices have been able to extend their gains throughout the session... In fact, the S&P 500 has touched the 1,000 mark as a steady stream of buying has pushed the broader market progressively higher... Among the catalysts cited for today's uptick, the Dow's successful clearance of its mid-June highs early in the morning laid the foundation for the buying drive, and has lured traders to accumulate more shares/cover shorts as a result of the index's technical condition..."

[htuttle]

19. In other words, Yahoo says the market is going up

...because the market is going up?

Fascinating.

[JNelson6563]

20. Well that's that!

Closing numbers:

Dow 9,412.45 +90.76 (+0.97%)
Nasdaq 1,739.49 +37.48 (+2.20%)
S&P 500 999.74 +9.07 (+0.92%)
10-Yr Bond 4.477% -0.051


All is well in the empire for now. Stay tuned.

Julie