STOCK WINNERS AND LOSERS -- HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STRONGEST ASSET CLASS

MARKET AVERAGES CONTINUE TO ERODE... The Dow and the other major stock averages slipped beneath minor chart support along the lows of the last eight trading days to keep their short-term downtrend intact. Although there were a lot more losers than winners, there were some winners -- mainly in the apparel and trucking groups. Brewers and department stores were sold. Bond prices bounced as stocks sold off. Although oil closed higher, profit-taking continued in gold and gold shares.

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FREEPORT MCMORAN FALLS ON HEAVY VOLUME... We saw some profit-taking in gold and gold stocks again today. The day's biggest XAU casualty was Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold. FCX tumbled on very heavy volume. The stock is threatening its 50-day moving average.

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OTHER BIG LOSERS... Three of the day's biggest losers are charted below -- in the technology, financial, and brewing area. All three tumbled on very heavy volume. Unum hit a 52-week low. Coors is threatening its low of last July.

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APPAREL UP, DEPARTMENT STORES DOWN... Retailers had a mixed day. In a stronger apparel group, Gap was the standout. The stock climbed to a two-week high on heavy volume. In a weak department store group, Sears fell on heavy volume. Its chart doesn't look very promising.

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ROADWAY LEADS TRUCKERS... Trucking stocks attracted some money today. Roadway saw the most impressive combination of price and volume. The stock is bouncing off its 200-day line on rising volume. It still has to get through its (blue) 50-day average to confirm an upturn however. Other truckers that gained today were Yellow Corp. and USFC.

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DOW LOSERS... The Dow lost 55 points today. Two of the biggest losers were in the financial area. American Express slipped toward its January low. Today's higher volume isn't a good sign. JP Morgan Chase slipped under its December lows. Some of the bigger Dow losers were AT&T, Eastman Kodak, and Alcoa.

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NASDAQ GAINERS... The Nasdaq market eked out a small gain of less than a point today. Two of the biggest gainers are shown below. USA Interactive jumped on rising volume and is retesting its moving average lines. Cephalon has gained two days in a row on impressive volume. It's back over its 200-day average.

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OPPENHEIMER REAL ASSET FUND... Commodity markets are now the strongest of all asset classes. The CRB Index is trading at the highest level in five years. And it's not just gold and oil that are rising. This is a pretty broad-based commodity rally. One way to participate in that commodity rise is through the Oppenheimer Real Asset Fund. This fund is designed to benefit when commodity prices are rising. Yesterday (Wednesday) this was the only mutual fund to actually hit a 52-week high. The chart shows that the fund bottomed at the start of 2002 and has been rising since then. The rising relative strength shows outperformance against the S&P 500. We have always believed that commodity markets represent a separate asset class from bonds and stocks. This fund provides one way to move some money into the only asset class that's in a bull market. The fund may be over-extended right now. However, we believe that any downside setbacks should be viewed as buying opportunities.

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