schaeffer's market recap

Market Recap

Profit taking extended into this week, as a number of blue chips issued
some less-than-heartening news. On the earnings front, QUALCOMM surged
more than six percent after the company guided second-quarter earnings to
between 47 and 49 cents per share. This outlook includes a loss of a penny
per share related to its strategic initiatives segment. The new numbers
are above the Street's forecast of 40 cents per share for the quarter, and
a full 10 cents above the high-end estimates of QCOM's previously
announced guidance of 34-37 cents per share. Concord EFS also posted
fourth-quarter earnings of 21 cents per share, besting the Street estimate
by a penny per share. Revenue for the quarter rose nine percent to $592.1
million. Home-improvement retailer Lowe's Companies sunk lower despite
reporting earnings of 51 cents per share compared to the Street forecast
of 49 cents per share. Total sales rose 20 percent to $7.25 billion, while
same-store sales soared 7.3 percent. Apparently, analysts were expecting
something a little more. Rival Home Depot is slated to report earnings
tomorrow. In fact, retailers are going to dominate the earnings calendar
this week, with Limited, Gap, J.C. Penney and others slated to step into
the earnings confessional. For a complete list, check out Looking at Next
Week's Earnings.

Woes continued to plague the technology sector, as Intel (INTC) took a hit
today. INTC plunged three percent after it announced that the Internal
Revenue Service will be auditing its 2001 and 2002 earnings reports, but
noted that everything appeared in order due to the information currently
available. However, the company could be liable for $600 million plus
interest in back taxes following an audit of its 1999 and 2000 taxes.
Traders should also keep an eye out for the company's mid-quarter update
on March 4.

Boeing and United Technologies have also worked to keep the Dow Jones
Industrial Average in negative territory. The companies are down on rumors
that the Department of Defense will cancel a program for the joint
development of the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter. The deal is currently
valued at $38 billion, with $1.2 billion allotted in the 2005 budget. In
the meantime, another merger announcement topped news, as Citigroup
announced on Sunday that it is acquiring KorAm Bank (South Korea's sixth
largest bank) in a $2.7-billion, all-cash takeover. The firm said it would
buy 36.6 percent of Seoul-based KORMY directly from an investor consortium
and make a tender offer for the remaining shares. KORMY's board is urging
shareholders to sell because C must acquire 43.4 percent of the company's
shares on the market for a total of at least 80 percent of the bank's
outstanding shares for the deal to close.

The Dow Jones tumbled nine points (or 0.09 percent) in trading this
afternoon as it continues to hang onto support at its 20-day moving
average (at 10595). Additional support also rests below the average at its
10-week moving average (at 10530). The Dow has not suffered a weekly close
below this trendline since the week of November 21. Of its 30 components,
14 finished the session in the red, with General Motors, Intel, and IBM
leading the decline.

The Nasdaq Composite plunged 30 points (or 1.49 percent) this afternoon,
but managed to rebound back above the critical 2000 level. This region is
also the site of the index's rising 20-week moving average. For a closer
look at the Nasdaq, check out It's Crunch Time for the Nasdaq Composite as
Earnings Season Comes to a Close.

Levels to watch for in Tuesday's trading:


Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) - support at 10,300; resistance at 10,
795.5


S&P 500 (SPX) - support at 1105, resistance at 1176.97


Nasdaq Composite (COMP) - support at 2000; resistance at 2100