Today’s Market

Well that was a nice turnaround! The market was pretty dull almost all day, and then zoomed higher in the afternoon. It all started about 1 p.m. today. I don’t know what to say, it was so unexpected. Maybe it’s to celebrate the 18th anniversary of the 1987 crash. Who knows? But I’ll take it. Here’s a chart of the S&P 500 today.
today's market.bmp
That looks like nobody wanted to take profits. All told, the S&P 500 was up 1.50% today, and our Buy List beat it slightly, rising 1.57%. That’s really good considering we have Stryker (SYK) which was one of the worst stocks on the market today. Stryker was down -9.1%, and Zimmer (ZMH) lost -6.9%. Despite those stocks weighing us down, we beat the market. Our huge winner was SEI Investments (SEIC) which rallied over 11.5%. Also, Varian Medical (VAR) broke out to a new 52-week high.
Very good news from Brown & Brown (BRO). The insurer announced that it will split 2-for-1, and it increased its dividend by 25%. The split will happen late next month. Yesterday, Brown & Brown reported earnings of 50 cents a share. I should also say that Stryker is a very good stock. The company reiterated its growth going forward.
eBay (EBAY) just reported earnings of 20 cents a share, which is inline with estimates. The company slightly beat on its top-line growth. I’m happy to see eBay’s operating margins expanded to 36%. eBay’s stock was up $1.59 today, although it’s giving some of that back (and more) in the after-hours market.
Three of our stocks report earnings tomorrow; Fiserv (FISV), Danaher (DHR) and Golden West Financial (GDW). I also have to add a word on Dell (DELL). The stock is cheap. Very cheap.

Posted by on October 19th, 2005 at 4:34 pm


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.