Cisco Systems traded lower after hours after the company topped estimates by a penny, but offered little in the way of new guidance. Blue chips lost ground during the day on a weaker than expected productivity report.
The ISDEX http://www.wsrn.com/apps/ISDEX/ rose 2 to 275, and the Nasdaq climbed 25 to 2198. The S&P 500 declined 2 to 1261, and the Dow lost 51 to 10,883. Volume rose slightly to 1.18 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.86 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led 16 to 14 on the NYSE, and 21 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, Cisco Systems topped lowered estimates by a penny with 3-cent earnings, but the stock fell .94 to 19.67 after the company reiterated guidance of flat to down revenues for the July quarter. The company said a bottom is possible in the next 1-2 quarters, but warned that visibility was still low.
Also after the bell, Aether Systems and WebMD
topped estimates, but National Semi
warned.
During the day, blue chips were weak on news that U.S. productivity fell for the first time since 1995, with a 0.1% decline, below the 1.1% improvement expected by economists. Productivity gains have been critical for keeping the economy growing and inflation low.
Dell lost 1.26 to 24.65 after saying it expects to meet estimates, but will eliminate 3,000-4,000 positions over the next two quarters. Priceline
, off .14 to 5.16, announced that Chairman Richard Braddock has been named CEO.
Juniper Networks slipped .23 to 56.85 after Cisco snagged a $100-$200 million contract with Global Crossing.
Ciena surged 4.82 to 60.10 on news that TyCom will deploy Ciena’s intelligent optical switching and transport systems in its Global Network.
BackWeb rose 1.06 to 3.30 on news of a deal with IBM
. Next Level
surged 1.36 to 8.65 on an agreement with Motorola
.
Internet Security Sys soared 7.98 to 59.11 on an expanded partnership with Nokia
.
IBM rose 1.45 to 117.35 ahead of an important meeting with analysts on Thursday.
Amazon.com lost 1.12 to 15.80 on a Prudential Sell rating and $9 price target. Prudential said Amazon’s customer base is turning out to be less loyal than once thought.
Communications chip stocks rose on news that Intel is considering making an acquisition in the space. Broadcom
rose 1.21 to 43.50, PMC Sierra
climbed 3.44 to 42.75, and Applied Micro
added 1.83 to 27.55.
internet.com , publisher of this Web site, slipped .14 to 3.90 after missing estimates by a penny with a 15-cent loss. The company also announced a name change to INT Media, which “more accurately reflects our current business as a media company as well as our strategy to continue to expand our services, online and offline, to Internet and IT professionals,” according to Chairman and CEO Alan M. Meckler.
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
Note: Visit our Company of the Week profile each Monday at http://www.wsrn.com/COW/. This week’s company is Network Appliance.
The Dow did some damage to its most recent uptrend today (first chart), and also fell back below its main downtrend line (second chart). The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are still hanging on (third and fourth charts), but have virtually no downside tomorrow. So has this rally finally run its course? It’s certainly interesting that the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq may have put in double tops, with both occurring on cycle turn dates (May 2 and May 7). However, the Nasdaq has left a partially filled gap at 2222, so we would expect that to fill at some point. The S&P and the Nasdaq have been stuck in a range for some time now; a break of either boundary of the range should dictate near-term direction. Those levels are 2000 and 2252 on the Nasdaq, and 1200 and 1300 on the S&P. The Dow’s next support is 10,600-10,725. A close above 11,035 would be bullish.
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.
