TECHS ARE UP, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS DOWN
DOW FALLS BACK UNDER 200-DAY LINE... The Dow was the hardest hit of the major stock averages today. It was also somewhat symbolic of the tug-of-war that went on within the market itself. The Dow's two biggest winners were Intel and Microsoft, reflecting buying in the technology sector. It's biggest losers were Coca Cola, SBC, and MMM. Coke was the Dow's biggest loser and reflected heavy selling in consumer staples. In the end, there were more losers than winners in the market -- and the Dow ended back below its 200-day moving average. All in all, another disppointing day. Of the nine market sectors we track, only technology ended higher.
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INTEL RALLIES, COKE TUMBLES... Intel started the day strong and ended strong. Chip stocks had a good day in general. Cosumer staples were sold heavily. Coca Cola was the Dow's biggest loser. The daily chart shows KO tumbling on very heavy volume.
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CONSUMER STAPLE LOSERS... In a weak consumer staples group,supermarket stocks were hit especially hard. Safeway tumbled to a new 52-week low on big volume. Albertsons also fell on heavy volume and is threatening its recent low. Healthcare stocks were sold heavily as well.
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EMC AND TXN LEAD TECH RALLY... Two big tech winners today were EMC and Texas Instruments. EMC jumped to a two-month high and is nearing a challenge of its February peak. Volume was good. Texas Instruments broke through its March high and its 200-day moving average -- and on big volume. That's pretty impressive chart action.
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PAYING MORE FOR SOX, BUT LESS FOR HEALTHCARE... Among the group indexes, the two next charts pretty much sum up the day. The Semiconductor (SOX) ended with a nice gain of 10 points and has bounced off its moving average lines. Its price relative line (under the chart) shows the SOX starting to outperform the rest of the market. Health care stocks appear to be losing their recent market leadership. The Health Care Select Sector SPRD backed off from its January high and has fallen back under its 200-day moving average. Of more concern is the price relative line which has fallen under its March low. That's not a good sign for this former sector leader.
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