Market Wrap-Up

January 2, 2008

Dow 13,043.96 -220.86 -1.67 S&P500 1,447.16 -21.20 -1.44% NASDQ 2,609.63 -42.65 -1.61%

Ugly that’s their only way I can describe it. Stocks started off the New Year by opening up lower and never saw the day of light.

Sending stocks lower was the ISM Index. Economist had expected the report to come in at 50.5, but it fell short coming in at 47.7. Remember that any number less than 50 indicates a contraction in manufacturing within the economy. Readings below 47 have occurred in the last two recessions.

Qualcomm (QCOM) $38.39 -0.96 (-2.44%) shares fell after a federal judge ruled that the company had infringed on three Broadcom (BRCM) $26.32 +0.18 (0.69%) patents.

Oil hit the $100 dollar mark today before closing at $99.45 up 3.6%. The rise was due to geopolitical concerns.

Merrill Lynch (MER) $52.76 -0.92 (-1.71) was also rumored to be announcing layoffs tomorrow and that it will be taking an additional $10 billion in write downs.

Today’s release of the FOMC minutes did little to encourage the market. The Fed to acknowledge that consumer spending is slowing and that stabilizing the credit markets could require “substantial further easing of policy." But they also said there is a chance that reversing the recent rate cuts could occur if the markets stabilized. These amateurs are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The Fed is unable to see what is really occurring in the real world.

The financial sector (-2.5%) was again the worst performing sector. National City (NCC) $15.59 -0.87 (-5.29%) shares got hammered after the company cut its dividend 49% to preserve capital.

The best performing sectors today were gold, and energy.

Economic reports to be released tomorrow are:

ADP Employment
Initial Claims
Factory Orders

Companies reporting earnings of interest are:

Monsanto (MON)
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY)