Indices
Dow - 80.62 at 10,754.26  -   Nasdaq - 26.09 at 2,061.34  -  S&P 500 - 9.59 at 1,200.75 

Market Wrap
(From Briefing):

The indices opened on a downbeat note following a mixed batch of economic data, earnings reports and guidance, but closed even lower in the wake of Greenspan's reaffirmation of further rate hikes... As expected, the Fed Chairman's remarks to the House Financial Services Committee essentially replicated his testimony to the Senate, which reiterated that a drop in yields on longer-maturity bonds since rate hikes began in June 2004 is a "conundrum"... Prior to comments that reflected the increased possibility of further Fed tightening, however, was a weaker than expected read on Jan Leading Indicators, which fell for the first time in three months, declining 0.3% (consensus -0.2%) versus a revised 0.2% increase in December... Weekly jobless claims fell 2K to 302K (consensus 315K), the lowest level in more than 4 years, but even though layoffs remain at low levels, hiring activity remains a more significant employment indicator... Meanwhile, market internals held a bearish bias from start to finish as virtually every sector closed lower... Retail (-0.7%) was a focal point all day after both Wal-Mart (WMT 52.70 +0.10) and rival Target (TGT 50.09 +1.02) beat analysts' Q4 expectations by a penny, with WMT issuing in line Q2 guidance but succumbing to pressure amid reports regarding child labor violations... Radio Shack (RSH 30.00 -3.37) missed Q4 earnings and issued downside Q1 guidance... Other notable earnings reports came from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 20.91 -0.15), which beat Q1 forecasts and guided Q2 revenues higher, while Nextel (NXTL 28.61 -0.57), Genzyme (GENZ 56.74 -1.16) and Baker Hughes (BHI 46.12 -1.23) all beat analysts' expectations but issued disappointing outlooks... Widespread consolidation also prompted weakness in several large technology names (i.e. ORCL, AAPL, INTC, CSCO and AMAT) as every sub-sector from semiconductor to software closed lower... Financial, health care, transportation, utility, consumer staples and even materials, despite showing modest gains much of the day as copper prices hit 16-year highs, were influential leaders to the downside... Profit taking in oil stocks, after their strong performance, coupled with a 1.6% decline in crude oil prices ($47.54/bbl -$0.79), sent the energy sector 1.1% lower... Homebuilding (+0.4%), however, found enough buying interest to shrug off higher bond yields after Greenspan commented that there was no nationwide housing price bubble... Despite selling off in the wake an unexpected decline in jobless claims early on, bonds remained relatively range-bound into the close as Greenspan's testimony answered more questions concerning Social Security than monetary policy and the economy...NYSE Adv/Dec 1103/2245...NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1006/2123.

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Today's Picks - February 18, 2005

1.   SID - Companhia Sider

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
02-18		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 do not enter the trade unless it trades above 23.75

2.   MTLM - Metal Management

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
02-18		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 do not enter the trade unless it trades above 30.02

3.   BK - Bank Of N Y

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
02-18		Short	Below 15 min low	Cover 1/2 once risk covered	Above HOD at time of setup
	* Please Note: If the stock gaps up at the open do not enter the trade unless it trades below 29.75

4.   SBL - Symbol Tech

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
02-18		Short	Below 15 min low	Cover 1/2 once risk covered	Above HOD at time of setup
	* Please Note: If the stock gaps up at the open do not enter the trade unless it trades below 17.65

5.   HSY - Hershey Foods

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
02-18		Short	Below 15 min low	Cover 1/2 once risk covered	Above HOD at time of setup
	* Please Note: If the stock gaps up at the open do not enter the trade unless it trades below 61.53

6.   LMT - Lockheed Martin

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
02-18		Short	Below 15 min low	Cover 1/2 once risk covered	Above HOD at time of setup
	* Please Note: If the stock gaps up at the open do not enter the trade unless it trades below 59.30

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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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