[4:30 PM] Apple Stock Watch: Apple Poised For Break Out
by Wes George
Today's wholesale inflation data for May was deemed benign by Wall Street. In a slowing economy the rapid growth tech stocks -- some still badly beaten down -- seem more attractive than the consumer and financial stocks of the Dow, especially as we enter the quarter's earnings warning period. But that's not to say there was a lot of excitement on the Nasdaq this friday. The volume was miserable. Apple regained most of yesterday's loss and looks poised for a break out to the triple digits once again.
Producer Price index, (PPI) a measure of wholesale price inflation, remained flat after declining a bit in April to a seasonally adjusted 0.3%. However, the three year upward trendline for the PPI remains in place as the PPI has moved higher from its January 1998 low with few set backs.
The Wall Street Journal reported, "Some recent economic reports -- including those on home sales, manufacturing activity and payrolls -- have offered signs that the economy may be slowing. Against this backdrop, economists have offered mixed opinions on whether Fed policy makers will nudge up rates for a seventh time when they meet June 27 and 28. But the real proof is in inflation data, such as Friday's report and one on consumer prices due for release Wednesday. And the latest figures were inconclusive."
Next week is a full of new economic data that could influence the Fed and move the markets.
Apple jumped over 3 bucks out of the gate this morning and traded higher all day to end up by 15/16 or 0.99% to close at 95 3/4 on volume of 2.2 million shares.
The Nasdaq climbed 49 points (1.30%) to closed at 3875 on light volume of 1.2 billion shares. After a 26% gain since the index's low on May 24th, this was a week of rest. But the Nasdaq held on to its gains and that bodes well for next week. Biotech stocks moved higher on news that Celera (CRA) is only days away from a complete sequencing of the human genome. Biotechs are up 49% from their May low.
The Dow fell 53 points (-0.50%) to close at 10614 on very light volume of 785 million shares. WalMart, McDonald's and other consumer stocks held the Dow back on fears of lower earnings. However, the market internals, new highs and gainers over losing stocks showed underlying strength.
The S&P 500 dropped 4.66 points (-0.32%) to close at 1457.01.
The Mac Observer Stock Watch Virtual Portfolio got hit by Lucent which fell 3 dollars to 59 3/4 on news that the company doesn't expect strong revenues growth next quarter. But Akamai's gains more than made up for Lucent's weakness, perhaps because of this report on the so-called Rich Media Era. Akamai climbed 7 9/16 to close at 98 1/8.
In Apple related businesses: ARM Holdings gained 3/4 to close at 32 3/4. Adobe traded up 2 3/16 to close at 120 9/16. Earthlink fell 1/4 to close at 17 5/16. Motorola dumped 1 7/16 to close at 34 13/16. IBM shed a 1/16 to 119 11/16.
Apple's competitors: Hewlett Packard gained 2 to close at 127 7/8. Gateway was up 3/8 to close at 56 3/8. Compaq fell 5/8 to close at 26 7/16. Shares of Microsoft were flat at 68 13/16. Intel climbed 1 1/32 to close at 127 7/32.
For full quotes on all the companies mentioned in this article, we have assembled this set of quotes at Yahoo! for your reference. We also have many of these same quotes reported live (20 minute delay) on our home page. For other stories regarding Apple's stock activity, visit our Apple Stock Watch Special Report.
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