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Equities Roundup: Off Highs Amid Profit Taking in Chip Stocks

US STOCKS
  • Stocks initially had a mixed reaction to this morning's February employment data, trading lower on the higher than expected jobs gain of 275k vs. 200k est. but reversed course as markets digested the large down revisions to January (229k from 335k, private to 177k from 317k).
  • S&P Emini futures climbed to new record high of 5193.0 by midmorning, but profit taking in the week's high flying IT sector saw indexes gradually reverse gains into midday Currently, DJIA is up 86.31 points (0.22%) at 38880.74, S&P E-Minis down 5.5 points (-0.11%) at 5156.75, Nasdaq down 53.1 points (-0.3%) at 16222.71.
  • Information Technology and Consumer Staples sectors led laggers in late morning trade, semiconductor makers that had buoyed markets on week traded weaker as accounts booked profits: Broadcom -5.60% (-6.12%/wk), Nvidia -2.76% (still +6.92%/wk), Intel -2.45% (+1.17%/wk).
  • Distribution and retailers weighed on the Consumer Staples sector, Costco -6.54% even after booking strong quarterly sales of appr $60B. Dollar Tree traded -1.7% while Dollar General traded -1.02%.
  • Leading gainers: Real Estate and Communication Services sectors led gainers in the first half: estate management company CBRE Group +2.20%, CosStar Group +1.14%, and industrial REITs: Prologis +1.63%. media and entertainment shares buoyed the latter: Google +2.03%, Fox +1.0% and Newscorp +0.88%.
  • The trend condition in S&P E-Minis is bullish and This week’s fresh cycle highs reinforce current conditions. Price action continues to highlight the fact that corrections are shallow - this is a bullish signal that highlights positive market sentiment. Support to watch is 5065.67, the 20-day EMA. A clear break of this average would signal potential for a deeper retracement towards 4951.27, the 50-day EMA. Sights are on 5200.00 next.

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