9:00am (EST)
The bears squared things up for the week as they got a victory over the bulls to pull even for the week. They are still on the offense as the major indexes show a loss for the week but today is looking like a bullish session. Tuesday’s action was limited to the downside but the bulls did great by holding support (which was resistance) throughout the day.
The Dow fell 42 points, or 0.3%, and settled at 12,226 after touching a low of 12,193. We were looking for 12,200 to hold at the open and then 12,000 if the bears got serious but the higher highs and higher lows still confirm the upside trend which we have at 12,350-12,500 over the near-term.
The S&P 500 dropped 4 points, or 0.3%, and finished at 1,328. The index slipped to a low of 1,324.61 and just below 1,325 which is trying to act as support. Further down the bulls have backup at 1,300. We still have 1,350-1,400 penciled-in for our near-term target.
The Nasdaq declined 13 points, or 0.4%, to close at 2,804. We were looking for 2,800 to hold into the close and that we got. The index reached a bottom of 2,798.83 on Tuesday and there is additional support at 2,750. However, we are still expecting push up to 2,850-3,000 over the near-term.
Futures are up slightly this morning after Dell (DELL, $13.91, down $0.18) reported after the bell (last night) and came in with better-than-expected numbers. This once Wall Street darling surprised analysts after the close on Tuesday by reporting a profit of $927 million, or $0.48 a share, up from $334 million, or $0.17 a share, in the year ago quarter. Revenue jumped 5% to $15.7 billion.
Dell would have earned $0.53 a share excluding charges which would have crushed analysts forecasts either way which were $0.36 a share, on average. However, revenue came in just short at $15.75 billion. In any event, shares were up 80 cents, or 6%, to $14.71, in after-hours trading last night and are holding up at current levels as we head towards the opening bell.
We have followed Dell for over a decade but we lost interest in them a long time ago. However, we did want to hear what the company said about corporate spending which seems to be on the up and up if you listen to their conference call.
The bottom line is Dell is a boring stock and is still trying to reinvent itself as it moves away from the PC business. Its share price has been stuck in the teens for over a year and we aren’t sure when this once 800-pound gorilla will grow back up.
The news did, however, seem to give Tech a lift as futures were strong last night and have held into the morning which is all we care about since we are still bullish. Dow futures are up 40 points 12,242 while the S&P 500 futures are higher by 5 points to 1,331. The Nasdaq 100 futures are showing an advance of 8 points to 2,340.
Subscribers, check the Members Area for the updates, and look for a NEW Trade Alert this morning or at 1pm. We said yesterday we had a trade coming that could be a monster winner and we are doing a little more research this morning to confirm a bullish trend. Stay locked and loaded in case we need to pull the trigger.
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