Daily Market Summary 2/6/07

[Portfolio Crafter]

End of Day Market Summary Tuesday, February 6, 2007
by Portfolio Crafter
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Stocks closed slightly higher as crude oil prices failed to reach $60 a barrel, lifting overall sentiment and offsetting earlier weakness in the technology sector. Investors appear to be waiting for news from Cisco due later after market close.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 4.57 or 0.04% to 12,666.31, the broader S&P 500 closed up 1.01 or 0.07% to 1,448.00, and the Nasdaq closed up 0.89 or 0.04% to 2,471.49.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by nearly 21 to 11 on volume of 1.47 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers edged decliners 16 to 13 on volume of 2.15 billion shares.

Investors have been struggling a bit this week, and the afternoon comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Chicago Fed president Michael Moskow failed to address current economic policy. Fed Chairman Bernanke, discussed the history and implications of economic and wage inequality. Chicago Fed president Michael Moskow, discussed economic development in the Illinois region and did not address current policy. San Francisco Fed president Janet Yellen spoke later in the session, saying the economy is on very solid turf, with the exception of the auto and housing sectors. The direction of oil prices is expected to give the market some direction in the next few days.

Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. rose slightly after the retailer announced that it is testing a possible video download service that would offer more than 3,000 films and television shows. This will bring the company into the burgeoning market for digital entertainment delivered to U.S. homes.

Stock of National Semiconductor closed down $0.64 or 2.7% to $22.68, after warning that revenue in its fiscal third quarter will fall more substantially from the second quarter, due to slower shipments. It projected a 14% to 15% decrease in third-quarter revenue from second-quarter levels.

In mergers news, shares of MGIC Investment closed up $7.16 to $70.09, after it stated that it is buying rival Radian Group in a $4.9 billion stock swap. Shares of Radian Group closed up $5.67 to $66.51. Blackstone has boosted its offer for Equity Office Properties to $23 billion, bringing its bid to just below the counter offer made by Vornado Realty Trust. Shares of Equity Office closed up $0.59 to $56.05, and that of Vornado closed up $1.90 to $127.00.

Crude oil for March delivery rose 14 cents to settle at $58.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. While crude-oil futures continued to gain on Tuesday, they fell short of reaching $60.

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