Indices
Dow + 2.00  I   Nasdaq + 13.41  I  S&P 500 + 0.02 

Market Wrap
(Briefing):

Lackluster trade left the market locked inside a very narrow trading range - within which blue chips swam below the flat line, while tech stocks continued their streak, for most of Thursday. Downgraded Boeing and Merck shares weighed heavily, and some uninspiring announcements from the retail industry catalyzed an early bearish bias. At the same, losses were kept in check. On the heels of an average 2.2% registered by the major indices since 2006's onset, traders on both sides of the aisle stood near the sidelines; anticipation of Friday's closely-watched employment report added to the cautionary stance.

Adding to the 5.3% it booked this week, surging semiconductors took the SOXX index 2.4% higher. That industry supported the Tech sector, sustaining its leadership position as well as the Nasdaq's. Raised revenue guidance from the world's largest maker of programmable chips, Xilinix (XLNX 28.55 +1.62), spurred another round of wide-spread buying interest across the tech board. The company's comment that its strength is rooted in strong global end-market demand boded well for the sector at large, and resonates with Briefing.com's view of the sector. The positive stance of the influential Financial sector helped the broader market hold within Thursday's range; while its modest 0.4% gain was not enough to incite substantial advances, it's slight uptick just before the bell helped the Dow and S&P clear the flat line.

Telecom similarly contributed 0.3%, and the Consumer Discretionary sector clung to a 0.1% gain. With respect to the latter, Disney (DIS 21.41 +0.42) - one of our recommended holdings for active investors - and General Motors (GM 20.52 +1.11) were its bright spots; those issues simultaneously limited the Dow's decline. DIS rose upon reports of an impending deal with, and possible takeover of, Pixar (PIXR 56.00 -2.16), while reports of strong sales (+35% during 2005) in China perhaps deviated some attention from Wednesday's dismal December U.S. data and drove GM north. After occupying much of the session's spotlight, retailers closed in the red. Although about half of the reporters exceeded analysts' expectations for the crucial holiday shopping season, the torrent of data was accompanied by several profit warnings that irked investors. Wal-Mart (WMT 45.69 -0.63) posted the smallest same-store sales growth (+2.2%) in five years, but, since that had been pre-announced Tuesday, it was its Q4 forecast that attracted sellers. The world's largest retailer expects EPS to check in at the low-end of its guidance - which, at that end, falls a penny short of Wall Street's estimate. TGT (+4.7%) reported in-line with expectations; warnings from KSS and DG were especial sore spots; JWN shined.

A bullish energy inventory report from the EIA, which showed a lower than expected drawdown in crude alongside better than expected builds in distillates, gasoline, and natural gas, ultimately had a bearish impact on the broader market. The stats induced profit-taking of the Energy sector's 3.4% week-to-date gain, and the 1.0% decline that resulted weighed heavily. Rocky crude trading was essentially overlooked, but crude futures did recede from the 11-week high at which they hovered. Industrials (-0.4%) also spent the day lower, following Bank of America's downgrade of BA; MRK's rating cut at Goldman Sachs ended the pharmaceutical industry's recent run and took the Healthcare sector 0.2% lower.

Separately, last week's initial claims hit a five-year low, while the December ISM service index, at 59.8, came in a bit stronger than expected. While neither had much impact on trading, the claims data sparked some bearishness for bonds. Thursday's economic front was essentially eclipsed by investors' anticipation of Friday's employment report, however...NYSE Adv/Dec 1841/1482...NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1630/1423.

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Trade system guidelines (edited):
Only available to Newsletter Subscribers.

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Today's Picks - January 06, 2006

1.   ENER - ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICES

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
01-06-06		Long	Above 15 high	Sell 1/2 once risk covered	Below LOD at time of setup
	* Please Note: If the stock gaps down at the open not enter the trade unless it trades above 44.75

2.   CVA - COVANTA HLDG CORP

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
01-06-06		Long	Above 15 high	Sell 1/2 once risk covered	Below LOD at time of setup
	* Please Note: If the stock gaps down at the open not enter the trade unless it trades above 15.90

3.   NVDA - NVIDIA CORP

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
01-06-06		Long	Above 15 high	Sell 1/2 once risk covered	Below LOD at time of setup
	* Please Note: If the stock gaps down at the open not enter the trade unless it trades above 40.25

4.   BZH - BEAZER HOMES

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
01-06-06		Long	Above 15 high	Sell 1/2 once risk covered	Below LOD at time of setup
	* Please Note: If the stock gaps down at the open not enter the trade unless it trades above 79.10

Previous Trades

CTXS - CITRIX

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
		Long	Above 15 high	Sell 1/2 once risk covered	Below LOD at time of setup
	* did not setup

FE - FIRSTENERGY

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
01-05-06		Long	50.77	51.02	Below 50.40	up to + 7 cents per share (50.84)

SIRF - SIRF TECHNOLOGY

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
01-05-06		Long	32.57	Reached (33.13)	Below 32.57	up to + $1.01 per share (33.58)

EWC - ISHARES CANADA

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
		Long	Above 15 high	Sell 1/2 once risk covered	Below LOD at time of setup
	* did not setup

DO - DIAMOND OFFSHORE DRILLING

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
		Long	Above 15 high	Sell 1/2 once risk covered	Below LOD at time of setup
	* did not setup

RIG - TRANSOCEAN

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
01-04-06	01-05-06	Long	73.36	Reached (74.36)	Closed Below 73.36	up to + $1.07 per share (74.43)
	* 01-04-06 - stock gapped down

AAUK - ANGLO AMERN

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
01-04-06	01-05-06	Long	36.46	36.93	Closed Below 35.55	up to - 97 cents per share
	* The stock gapped down past our stop at the open forcing us to set an emergency stop just below 35.55 (15min low). The emergency stop was then hit, closing the trade.

MDR - MCDERMOTT INTL

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
01-03-06	01-05-06	Long	46.05	Reached (46.88)	Closed Below 47.23	up to + $2.26 per share (48.31)

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EOD = End of day.
LOD = Low of day.
PDC = Previous Day's Close.
S/R = Support/Resistance.
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