MORNING UPDATE: PriceWatch Alerts for QCOM and More... for 2005-03-03 |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------- - MORNING UPDATE: PriceWatch Alerts for QCOM, AMTD, TTN, LRCX and PETM. Mar 3 - 8:30 AM EDT - Before the open... PriceWatch Alerts for QCOM, AMTD, TTN, LRCX and PETM, Market Overview, Put/Call Alert, FuturesWatch, Today's Economic Calendar, Expected Earnings Reports, and the Quote Of The Day. QUOTE OF THE DAY ----------------------------------------------- "We owe future retirees as much time as possible to adjust their plans for work, saving and retirement spending." -- Alan Greenspan, Chairman, Federal Reserve. PRICEWATCH ALERTS - HIGH RETURN COVERED CALL OPTIONS ----------- -- QualComm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) Last Price 36.28 - JUL 32.50 CALL OPTION@ $5.10 -> 4.2 % Return assigned* -- Ameritrade Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: AMTD) Last Price 11.02 - AUG 10.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.70 -> 7.3 % Return assigned* -- Titan Corp. (NYSE: TTN) Last Price 17.50 - JUL 17.50 CALL OPTION@ $1.25 -> 7.7 % Return assigned* -- Lam Research Corp. (Nasdaq: LRCX) Last Price 31.41 - APR 30.00 CALL OPTION@ $2.60 -> 4.1 % Return assigned* -- PETsMART, Inc. (Nasdaq: PETM) Last Price 30.51 - APR 30.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.65 -> 4.0 % Return assigned* *For more details on covered calls and how you can use them to enhance your portfolio performance go to http://www.poweropt.com/cchelp.asp NEWS LEADERS AND LAGGARDS------------------------------------- So far today, Pride International Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Deutsche Telekom AG lead the list of companies with the most news stories while Pep Boys-Manny Moe & Jack Inc. and Aegon NV are showing a spike in news. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Joseph A Bank Clothiers Inc., and Express Scripts Inc. have the highest srtIndex scores to top the list of companies with positive news while Talisman Energy Inc. and Pier 1 Imports Inc. lead the list of companies with negative news reports. Aeropostale Inc. has popped up with a high positive news sraIndex score. MARKET OVERVIEW------------------------------------------------ The April future contract on gold fell 10 cents an ounce on the regular trading session yesterday. The yellow metal held its ground rather well despite some strength in the dollar. Usually, a stronger dollar will sap investment demand away from gold. The consensus still seems to indicate that the dollar will fall in the coming months, and that is making gold a sought after hedge. Despite the slight drop in gold, metals stocks were higher as the AMEX Gold BUGS added 1.3 percent and the PHLX Gold and Silver Index finished up 1.3 percent as well. Jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 310,000 for the week ending February 26. This number was fairly in-line with the consensus expectation that jobless claims would remain unchanged. Fourth- quarter productivity grew by a 2.1 percent annualized rate, which beat the 1.4 percent rate of growth that was expected by economists. DYNAMIC MARKET OPPORTUNITIES------------------------------------ - The economic prospects for the 12-nation Eurozone region continue to look bleak. Fourth quarter GDP figures Wednesday show a mediocre performance, with the countries mustering an unimpressive 0.2% expansion. Third quarter growth was also revised down from 0.3% to 0.2%. The main culprit for such lackluster growth was the export market. As the dollar sank towards the end of last year, and the euro simultaneously solidified to an all-time record US$1.36, export growth consequently dwindled to half the level of the third quarter. Exports suffered from the oil market too, with crude prices rising to a record high close to US$56 per barrel in October. In fact, the German and Italian economies were unable to show any resiliency, with both enduring growth contractions. That prompted the International Monetary Fund to slash its growth forecast for the German economy this year from the 1.8% projected as recently as September 2004 all the way down to 0.8%. More seriously, the Ifo Institute says Germany?s long-term growth potential now sits at just 1.1%. It pegged the figure at 6% during the 1950s and 1960s, 2.5% in the 1970s, and 1.9% during the heady days of global economic expansion in the 1990s. Remarkably, the European region has long-term growth potential of 2% - but would be 2.2% without Germany. On the brighter side, fourth quarter consumer spending climbed 0.5%, compared with the third quarter?s virtually non-existent 0.1%. The news meant the Eurozone economy finished 2004 with 2% GDP growth ? surprisingly good considering the circumstances. The British economy recorded 3.1% growth on its own. Meanwhile, the US posted solid 4.4% growth, with Japanese GDP rising 2.6%. The situation isn?t expected to get much better, with insiders saying the European Central Bank will today release a 2005 GDP forecast of 1.6%. The IMF is also likely to toss out the same projection. PUT/CALL ALERT ------------------------------------------------- Equity option activity on the CBOE yesterday had 420,572 put contracts trade compared to 677,219 call contracts. The resultant 0.621 single-session put/call ratio has allowed the 21-day moving average to move up to 0.597. The CBOE Market Volatility Index, SPX implied (VIX - 12.50) rose 3.82 percent (OEX implied, VXO -12.59, up 6.88 percent). The Nasdaq-100 Trust Volatility Index (QQV -17.05) gained 0.95 percent and the CBOE Nasdaq Market Volatility Index (VXN - 18.20) jumped 2.36 percent. FUTURES WATCH -------------------------------------------------- The futures markets are trading higher again this morning in spite of the ever-increasing price of crude oil. The latest economic numbers has helped to fuel the markets along with strong institutional buying that has helped to increase open interest considerably over the past few weeks. If the cold snap that has helped to increase oil prices over the past month or so would end, it would help to bring down demand which in turn would bring down prices and act as a very strong catalyst to the equity markets. The crude oil is trading right at the recent highs in the April futures contract. It looks as if that market may have a chance to double top at these levels, forcing a strong round of profit taking that can help to rally the S&P and NASDAQ futures to the next level. The S&P futures need to maintain the 120900 level and the 152400 level in the NASDAQ futures. In the meantime, I'm waiting for a close above the 153100 level in the NASDAQ futures in order to confirm that this rally has merit and not just a short covering blip. There is report on the non-mfg ISM at 9:00 CST. TODAY'S ECONOMIC CALENDAR -------------------------------------- - 8:30 a.m.: Last week's Initial Jobless Claims (expected plus 6K, last week +9) 8:30 a.m.: Fourth-quarter Revised Non-Farm Productivity (expected plus 1.5%, last plus 0.8%) 10:00 a.m.: Last week's DJ-BTM Business Barometer (last minus 0.2%) 10:00 a.m.: February ISM Non-Mfg Index (expected 60.0, last 59.2) EARNINGS EXPECTED TODAY (w/current estimates) ------------------ Aspen Insurance Hldg (AHL) 4Q 0.84 CharterMac (CHC) 4Q 0.47 CollaGenex (CGPI) 4Q 0.16 Credence Sys (CMOS) 1Q -0.16 Decode Genetics (DCGN) 4Q -0.17 Del Monte Foods Co. (DLM) 3Q 0.25 Descartes Systems (DSGX) 4Q -0.04 Dex Media (DEX) 4Q 0.02 EGL Inc. (EAGL) 4Q 0.34 Encore Capital Grp (ECPG) 4Q 0.22 Finisar Corp. (FNSR) 3Q -0.04 Harvard Bioscience (HBIO) 4Q 0.07 Highwoods Properties (HIW) 4Q 0.6 Home Properties (HME) 4Q 0.72 Hypercom Corp. (HYC) 4Q 0.06 Kos Pharmaceuticals (KOSP) 4Q 1.03 Laserscope (LSCP) 4Q 0.22 Mack-Cali Realty (CLI) 4Q 0.9 On Assignment (ASGN) 4Q -0.1 Orthofix Intl (OFIX) 4Q 0.59 Penn REIT (PEI) 4Q 1.05 Pep Boys (PBY) 4Q 0.01 Per-Se Technologies (PSTI) 4Q 0.22 Progress Energy Inc. (PGN) 4Q 0.56 Progressive Corp. (PGR) 1Q 1.77 Public Storage (PSA) 4Q 0.76 Republic Airways (RJET) 4Q 0.42 S1 Corp. (SONE) 4Q 0.04 SPX Corp. (SPW) 4Q 0.83 Shuffle Master (SHFL) 1Q 0.15 Sonus Networks (SONS) 4Q 0.02 US Physical Therapy (USPH) 4Q 0.15 Vital Images (VTAL) 4Q 0.03 WatchGuard Tech (WGRD) 4Q -0.05 Weight Watchers Intl (WTW) 4Q 0.32 West Marine (WMAR) 4Q -0.1 This Morning Update was prepared with data and information provided by: PowerOptionsPlus.com - The Best Way To Find, Compare, Analyze, and Make Money On Option Investments - Forbes Best of the Web Winner. InvestorsObserver.com -- Better Strategies for Making Money -> For Investors With a Sense of Humor. Only $1 for your first month plus seven free bonuses worth over $800, see: http://www.poweropt.com/io Quote.com QCharts- Real time quotes and streaming technical charts to keep you up with the market. Analyze, predict, and stay ahead. for a Free 30 day trial go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/MUQuote2 WallStreetSecretsPlus.com ? For Investors Who Need To Know -> Only $1 for your first month plus free bonuses worth over $269, go to: http://gowssp.com/go/mu/ Man Financial Inc - One of the world's major futures and options brokers and a leading option order execution firm for individuals and institutions. Member CBOE/NASD/SIPC (CRD#6731) http://www.poweropt.com/mansec. FuturesWatch provided by Man's Harry Michas www.manmarketmonitor.com. For a free Trader's Resource CD click the following link or paste it into your browser address bar: http://www.poweropt.com/manseccd 247profits.com: You'll get exclusive financial commentary, access to a global network of experts and undiscovered stock alerts. Register NOW for the FREE 247profits e-Dispatch. Go to: http://www.poweropt.com/247 Schaeffer's Investment Research - Market information that combines unique data with insightful commentary, enabling you to navigate in any market conditions and invest wisely http://www.poweropt.com/sirmmo All stocks and options shown are examples only. These are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. PriceWatch Alerts do not take into account your trade size, brokerage commissions or taxes which will effect actual investment returns. Stocks |
