Yesterday, in my evening article, I said, "After 2 days of bouncing, the market may need a bit of rest tomorrow before some important earnings reports..." Indeed, we saw some profit-taking today. Commodity sectors were mostly weak. BIDU jumped another $23.6, or +5.54% to close just a tad under $450, as Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $550 from $500. GOOG, after falling for $100 from its recent high of $629.51, finally had a little bounce today, up $9.7, or +1.83%. AAPL also rebounded after the recent selloff, but, was not able to close above the $200 level.
After the market, CSCO reported a good quarter, earning 40 cents per share vs. an average estimate of 35 cents. CEO Chambers was optimistic in his guidance for the current quarter. CSCO shares traded +3.55% higher in the after-hours. V also had a solid quarterly report, trading +2.73% higher this evening. MA, which reports tomorrow, went up +2.39%. BRCM delivered a better-than-expected earnings report, declared a dividend of 8 cents per share, and announced its decision to by Teknovus, a chipset and software provider that enables broadband Internet services over fiber optic cables, for $123 million in cash. BRCM went up +1.74% in after-hours trading, after being down initially.
The Dow was down 26.3 points; SPX slid 6.04 points; Nasdaq eked out a +0.85-point gain:
Most sectors were just slightly in the red. XME (metals and mining) lost 1.45% and GDX (gold miners) slid 1%. INX2 (internet) added +1.14%. XLF (financials) fell 1.09% after a 2-day rally. FXI (Chinese ADRs) was flat.
SPX
SPX slid 6.04 points to close at 1097.28. It closed below the 1100 level. The daily MAs were slightly down and the MACD was flat.
Nasdaq
Nasdaq added +0.85 points to close at 2109.91. It closed below its 10-day MA. The MACD slid.
So, SPX slid back below that 1100 level. On the other hand, Nasdaq still was not able to get above the 10-day MA. Tomorrow and Friday, we'll get the latest jobs data: unemployment claims tomorrow and the unemployment rate on Friday. The market is in a neutral zone right now, and the jobs data should determine the near-term direction. If the unemployment claims are favorable, CSCO earnings should help the techs to a positive start tomorrow. But, big buyers will likely wait to see the unemployment rate on Friday before staying committed.
Good night and HappyTrading! ™
