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Split Decision - Money Matters for 10/11/05 Don Bravo | 10/11/05
The Dow gained 14 points today while the Nasdaq dropped 17. They NYSE was off a mere 4 points, but all this really doesn't tell the real story, as usual.
US equity markets were absolutely hammered again today. The advance decline line was almost 2-1 and nearly 3-1 to the downside today, and the new lows swamped new highs, with the gap widening.
Apparently, traders were less-than-inspired over Alcoa's results, released yesterday after the bell. Shortly after the close of trade today, however, Apple Computer came out with blockbuster numbers, due primarily to sales of their revolutionary i-pod.
Apple's results were stunning, with income rising more than 300% to $430 million and earnings of 38 cents per share, bettering analyst expectations.
But the eye-popping numbers were not enough to satisfy the appetite of hungry investors who dumped Apple shares by more than 5 points in after-hours trading.
Chip maker AMD beat expectations of 8 cents per share by a wide margin, coming in at 18 cents. In the publishing field, Gannett (GCI), publisher of USA today and parent of a multitude of media holdings, saw their net income fall by 4%, though per share earnings were marginally higher, at 1.22 as compared to 1.19 a year ago.
As earnings are released, we're going to get a feeling not only of how companies did in the previous three months, but how well they might do in months ahead.
Thus far, it's too early to tell, but the mood on the street is distinctly cautious and traders are not afraid to unload shares if expectations fall short, or in Apple's case, may already have been discounted.
Between profit taking by smarties and outright selling by panicked investors on misses, it is shaping up to be a hair-raising time of year, so don't be caught snoozing.
BY THE NUMBERS
Dow Jones: +14.41; 10,253.17 close
NYSE Advancers: 1247
Nasdaq Advancers: 848
NYSE New Highs: 32
Nasdaq New Highs: 44
Gold: +1.80; 479.80 close
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