Nas looks safe..have a nice weekend..

Riz

Experienced member
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Dow Jones 10470 up +71
Nasdaq 2904 up +149
S&P 500 1342 up +19

Makes a change, doesn't it? Now we can look forward to Monday opening and enjoy our weekend..

Nasdaq is oversold..most analysts agree on this..Todays gains are the start of a strong bounce or a short rally..The question is however how long this bounce will last..Can it sustain? Or will Nas start going sideways (as there is not much downside left) after an uptrend of a week or so due to the sell off? I think with serious growth problem as well as general economic issues (possible recession period, etc)a sustained end of year rally is highly unlikely...therefore it`s best if we take bounces as great opportunities to lighten up our poisitions..

Anyway let's hear what CBS Market Watch has to say:

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - A week that began on a somber note for tech stocks ended with a bang.

But can Friday's tech rally find the sponsorship needed to plow ahead for more than a day or two? Until now, rallies in the tech arena, however powerful, have been met with hoards of sellers, fizzling out with the same vigor that they began.

"Friday's rally may be the beginning of a counter move in the Nasdaq that can extend for one to two weeks before it runs into roadblocks," said Terry Gabriel, technical strategist at IDEAglobal.

"The Nasdaq made a new low this week and it's oversold. Stocks have factored in [lots of] bad news for the time being,"said Gabriel.

A resolution of the election debacle is likely to generate a sigh of relief from Wall Street, leading Gabriel to believe that a short-term low is in place. But he still views bounces as a prime opportunity to lighten up on positions.

"The deceleration of earnings growth remains the real problem," Gabriel continued. Whether the U.S. economy will see a soft or hard landing is an unanswered question that'll take time to sort out, he concluded.

David Powers, senior technology analyst at Edward Jones, said the Nasdaq's steep sell off may suggest there's not much downside left. But he isn't banking on sustained upside action going forward and expects sideways action to prevail over the next weeks with no real catalysts to keep rallies going.

"People were paying sky-high multiples for tech stocks because they thought that's where the growth was. But they're no longer willing to pay up with growth estimates coming down so quickly," Powers said.

The Dow Industrials ended the week with a 1.5-percent loss and is down 9 percent for the year. The Nasdaq has fallen 4.1 percent this week and is down a bruising 43 percent from its all-time intra-day high set on March 10. The tech-packed index is down 28.6 percent for the year.

Data watch

Next week's economic plate fills up considerably after this week's pause. Among the highlights: October existing home sales, October durable goods orders, November consumer confidence, revised third-quarter gross domestic product, October personal income and personal consumption expenditures, the November Chicago Purchasing Mangers Index and October construction spending. View Economic Preview, economic calendar and forecasts and historical economic data.

But investors will have to wait until Dec. 8 to get a glimpse of the month's most crucial piece of news - the December employment report. With the Fed focused on the tight labor market, the next jobs report will take on perhaps even more significance as investors brace for an FOMC meeting on Dec. 19 and hope for a passage to a neutral stance on interest rates.

Friday's trading activity

Investors finally had something to give thanks for Friday as the major equity averages ended with mammoth gains on a day that has traditionally been a positive one for the market. Tech stocks led the charge with a powerful rally, helping the Nasdaq interrupt its five-day losing streak, which lopped off a lofty 13 percent from the index.

The stock market observed an early 1 p.m. ET close on Friday.

Within technology, gains were broad-based but Internet, computer software and chip shares still stole the show. Internet stocks bounced back nicely after falling for six days in a row, with shares of e-tailers especially bubbly as investors geared up for the start of the holiday shopping season.

Inside the overall market, financial shares recovered, with brokerage stocks leading the push higher after five straight days of losses. Biotech, oil service, airline and paper shares also advanced while drug, retail and consumer issues retreated.

"I wouldn't read too much into Friday's thin action. There wasn't much news to react to," said Powers of Edward Jones.

Powers believes a relief rally is in the cards over the next weeks -- once the election stalemate lifts. But he expects the honeymoon to be brief since the fourth-quarter pre-announcement period will commence shortly after.

"The overriding issue is earnings," Powers remarked.

The Dow Jones Industrials Average ($DJ: news, msgs) climbed 70.91 points, or 0.7 percent, to 10,470.23. The index's frontrunners included Intel, Hewlett-Packard, AT&T, J.P. Morgan, Caterpillar and Microsoft.

J.P. Morgan added 3 percent to $142.19. Citing people familiar with the deal, Dow Jones reported that Chase Manhattan received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission for its proposed merger with J.P. Morgan.

The Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ: news, msgs) rallied 148.85 points, or 5.4 percent, to 2,904.19 while the Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 161.45 points, or 6.1 percent, to 2,829.70.

Among the Nasdaq's big upside movers, Intel tacked on 6.7 percent, Cisco Systems climbed 4.2 percent, Dell put on 6 percent, Sun Micro jumped 6.1 percent, Oracle rallied 8.1 percent, JDS Uniphase flew 6.5 percent and Applied Materials surged 10.5 percent.

The Nasdaq has bled heavily in recent sessions -- closing down for five straight trading days and witnessing its lowest close in 13 months on Wednesday.

Market observers said a technical bounce from oversold conditions was in the offing for the Nasdaq, with thin volumes accentuating the upward push Friday. The tech sector's problem over the past months has been it inability to sustain rallies for more than a day or two.

Merrill Lynch said the two main factors that have kept the market under pressure recently is the perception of a continued stream of earnings disappointments, particularly in the technology sector, and worries about a major deterioration in credit quality.

"Yet despite these U.S.-specific issues, the U.S. market has underperformed the global equity benchmark by a mere 1 percent since the U.S. election," Merrill said in a note to clients.

"We think a lot of bad news has been priced into the market and still believe the fourth-quarter rally in prices has been postponed rather than cancelled," Merrill concluded.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($SPX: news, msgs) advanced 1.5 percent while the Russell 2000 Index ($RUT: news, msgs) of small-capitalization stocks put on 3.1 percent.

Volume came in at 406 million on the NYSE and at 806 million on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Market breadth was positive, with advancers beating decliners by 18 to 8 on the NYSE and by 25 to 11 on the Nasdaq.

Turning to the election machinations, Vice President Al Gore's campaign vowed to contest election results in Miami-Dade County after the Florida Supreme Court refused Thursday to force election officials to proceed with a hand recount of ballots. On Wednesday, a sequel of events on the election front produced violent short-term swings in the market's major averages.

Sector movers

Internet issues led the tech sector's charge Friday, with e-tailing stocks on fire as the holiday shopping season kicked off. The Goldman Sachs Internet Index ($GIN: news, msgs) piled on 10 percent after seeing 30 percent of its value lopped off during the past six trading sessions. EToys (ETYS: news, msgs) skyrocketed 48.7 percent, or 59 cents to $1.81, EBay (EBAY: news, msgs) jumped 12.4 percent, or $4.06 to $36.94, and Amazon (AMZN: news, msgs) put on $3.75 to $28.94. Amazon's Web site was down for about 20 to 20 minutes Friday.

While e-tailers flew, traditional retail stocks failed to give the S&P Retail Index ($RLX: news, msgs) a lift, ending down 0.1 percent. Among the Dow's retail components, Wal-Mart fell 69 cents to $45.19 while Home Depot climbed 75 cents to $37.50.

Business-to-business stocks also led the Internet charge Friday, with Merrill's B2B Holdrs (BHH: news, msgs) up a smashing 14.9 percent. Stocks in this group have been under considerable pressure in recent weeks, with the Holdrs falling 36 percent in November. Gargantuan gains were witnessed in shares of Internet Capital Group (ICGE: news, msgs), which skyrocketed 34.5 percent, Purchase Pro (PPRO: news, msgs), up an amazing 34.5 percent and Commerce One (CMRC: news, msgs), up 21.5 percent.

Biotech stocks gained ground, with the Nasdaq Biotech Index ($IXBT: news, msgs) up 6.3 percent. In a note to clients, SG Cowen said recent selling pressure in the group presents a buying opportunity in some of its top picks, including MedImmune (MEDI: news, msgs). "We believe the top product-driven names will rebound as more products get into the market and investors understand the revenue potential. Among the top gainers Friday were shares of Millennium Pharmaceutical (MLNM: news, msgs), which ran up 15.8 percent, and Celera Genomics, up 16.8 percent.

Specific movers

Shares of cable equipment maker Antec (ANTC: news, msgs) tanked 21.3 percent, or $2.36 to $8.70 on news that AT&T Broadband, one of its largest customers, has asked it to delay "all pending orders until further notice." Antec said the move will have a "material" impact on earnings and revenue but added that it's too early to estimate the full impact. Read full story.

Quaker (OAT: news, msgs) shed 3.7 percent, or $3.25 to $83.75 after France's Groupe Danone called off talks to acquire the company. On Wednesday, Coca-Cola pulled its offer to buy Quaker, producing a rally in the beverage giant's shares. On Friday, shares of Dow-component Coke (KO: news, msgs) fell 56 cents to $59.

I2 Technologies (ITWO: news, msgs) ended up $6.38 to $113, erasing earlier losses, which came in the wake of news late Wednesday that chief operating officer Robert Evans had resigned. Commenting on the news, CS First Boston said in a note to clients that it doesn't expect Evans' departure to have an impact on financial results. The brokerage maintained its "strong buy" rating on the stock and said I2 Technologies remains one of its top picks despite the recent pullback.

Treasury action

Government bonds ended mixed after trading inversely to stocks for most of the trading session. The 10-year Treasury note fell 2/32 to yield ($TNX: news, msgs) 5.63 percent while the 30-year government bond added 2/32 to yield ($TYX: news, msgs) 5.67 percent.

Cornering the currency market, the dollar rallied 1.0 percent to 111.26 yen, cracking the 111 mark in intra-day dealings for the first time since February 25. Euro/dollar shed 0.1 percent to 0.8390, giving up earlier gains.


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Julie Rannazzisi is markets editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com.
 
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