FirstAlert(tm) Daily 3/22: Eyeing 11,000

- Market Commentary -

March 22, 2010 (FinancialWire) (By Genevieve Hawkins) — If an early earnings forecast from Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) comes in above expectations, the rally that never wants to end could just continue.

Last week stocks again defied gravity by rising most of the week, leading the Dow to rise 1.1% last week, while the S&P 500 increased 0.9% and the Nasdaq rose 0.3%. Another strong rally next week could lead the Dow above the important 11,000 milestone, but the uncertainty over debt and health care reform could lead to a sudden downward spiral.

For the coming week investors will be sensitive to news about Greece’s sovereign debt issues, and will also want to know about the U.S. health-care reform measures. Now that Congress has passed landmark legislation on health care, market participants will be scrambling to see how this affects major players in this industry.

Economic reports on housing sales, fourth quarter gross domestic product and consumer sentiment could also swing the marketeers.

There may be sudden dips in the coming week, but there is a chance that the rally could build steam if health-care reform turns out to be good for big business.

[Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=genevieve+hawkins to see more commentaries by Genevieve Hawkins.]

The FirstAlert(tm) “Money Index” is an indicator of the depth of market direction or indirection. While not always including the same stocks, the NYSE/NASDAQ/AMEX 25 Most Actives and NYSE/NASDAQ/AMEX greatest Percentage Losers and Percentage Winners (weighted against pure monetary loss/gain) indicate the direction in which the mass of money is flowing, as well as the general focus of the market. Of last session’s Greatest Percentage Winners, stocks making the greatest monetary gains were led by telecommunications company City Telecom Hong Kong Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTEL) trading on volume of 650,695 (gaining $62.3 million), consumer discretionary/media company Seven Arts Pictures PLC (NASDAQ: SAPX) trading on volume of 10,952 shares (gaining $15.3 million) and healthcare equipment & supplies company NMT Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: NMTI) trading on volume of 79,392 shares (gaining $9.2 million). Of last session’s Greatest Percentage Losers, stocks taking the greatest monetary losses were led by information technology/communications equipment company Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) trading on volume of 30,435,872 shares (losing $276.1 million), consumer discretionary/media company Entravision Communications Corp. (NYSE: EVC) trading on volume of 440,600 shares (losing $59.5 million), air freight & logistics company Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATSG) trading on volume of 1,039,060 shares (losing $40.1 million) and consumer discretionary/media company LIN TV Corp. (NYSE: TVL) trading on volume of 426,200 shares (losing $40.1 million). Of the Most Actives, last session’s trading showed 4 advancers versus 21 decliners. Volume leaders were led by diversified financial services company Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) trading 131,421,500 shares closing at $3.90 (down 3.0%), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) trading 51,859,047 shares closing at $115.97 (down 0.9%) and diversified financial services company Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) trading 47,856,200 shares closing at $16.82 (down 1.5%).  The complete chart for the FirstAlert(tm) Money Index Synopsis is provided by StockSmart.com, and is accessible via Investrend’s dedicated Stock Smart NYSE-NASDAQ-AMEX Summary webpage (at http://www.investrend.com/fa-index). Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=%22%27Money+Index%27+Synopsis for all the most recent FirstAlert(tm) “Money Index” Synopses.

The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Treasury auctions 3&6-month bills (11:30 a.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases CHK, CXO, HERO, BBG at Howard Weil Energy Conference; KMB Investor Day; MNDO at United Business Media VoiceCon Orlando Conference.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.petfinder.com

Quote of the Day: “The reason why so few good books are written is that so few people who write know anything.” Walter Bagehot

Today is: World Water Day

Happy Birthday: Chico Marx, Louis L'Amour, Karl Malden, Ross Martin, Marcel Marceau, Pat Robertson, Stephen Sondheim, William Shatner, Orrin Hatch, M. Emmet Walsh, Jeremy Clyde, Wolf Blitzer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bob Costas, Matthew Modine, Elvis Stojko, Reese Witherspoon.

Today in History: In 1622, Algonquian Indians killed 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia, a third of the colony's population. Closed since 1939, the London bullion market reopened in 1954. Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Townes received the first patent for a laser in 1960. Karl Wallenda of the Flying Wallendas died in 1978 after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Intel Corporation shipped the first Pentium chips (80586) in 1993, featuring a 60 MHz clock speed, 100+ MIPS, and a 64 bit data path. In 1997, Tara Lipinski, age 14 years and 10 months, became the youngest champion of the women's world figure skating competition. The comet Hale-Bopp had its closest approach to earth in 1997.

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