Indices
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Market Wrap
(Briefing):

News of the biggest tech buyout ever, falling oil prices, a stronger dollar and arguably oversold conditions lifted stocks at the open and closed the market on an upbeat note in the face of deteriorating breadth figures... Underpinning a positive sentiment at the open was news that a consortium of seven private-equity firms plan to acquire SunGard Data Systems (SDS 34.36 +2.81) for roughly $10.8 bln... Led by Silver Lake Partners, the proposed largest leveraged buyout in 15 years signaled a huge increase of cash among buyout firms, piquing the possibility that more large deals could be in the works... Also helping investors shrug off three consecutive weeks of market declines was a 1.4% sell off in oil prices... Profit taking in crude oil futures ($54.05/bbl -$0.79), amid reduced concerns of insufficient inventories and a stronger dollar, eased inflation fears and provided a floor of support for stocks throughout the session... Reports of a large 8.2 earthquake, occurring on the same fault line off the coast of Indonesia as the one that caused December's deadly tsunami, temporarily renewed modest buying interest in oil futures but failed to rattle investors as the commodity still closed lower... The dollar climbed to a 4-month high against the yen (107.22) and advanced to a six-week high against the euro (1.2891), extending last week's gains amid higher interest rates and expectations that economic reports later in the week will show an improving U.S. economy... While there was no economic data for equity investors to sift through today, bond traders were wary ahead of this week's data, as Treasurys closed near session lows... The benchmark 10-year note finished down 9 ticks to yield 4.62%... Unaffected by higher bond yields, due to strength in Insurance (+2.2%), Banks (+0.4%) and Brokerage (+0.3%) was Financial (+0.7%), after the SEC subpoenaed as many as 12 executives at American International Group (AIG 57.02 +1.41)... Another economic sector closing higher was Consumer Discretionary (+0.6%), led by strength in Department Stores (+1.7%), amid a 1.7% sell off in gasoline futures ($157.2/gal)... Weakness in Drug Retail (-1.6%) following a Q2 earnings disappointment from Walgreen (WAG 45.11 -1.12), however, minimized gains... Technology finished in split fashion, as late-day strength in Software (+0.2%), after Symantec (SYMC 21.35 +0.42) authorized a $3 bln share buyback expansion, offset modest weakness in Semiconductor and Hardware... Telecom Services (+0.2%) climbed following a favorable FCC ruling regarding high-speed Internet service while Utility and Consumer Staples also eked out gains... Health Care Distributors (-6.6%), however, led Monday's list of laggards after AmerisourceBergen (ABC 54.03 -7.08) lowered its Q2 and FY05 earnings outlook while Biotech (-1.3%) was also weak after Phase III clinical studies showed Ligand Pharmaceuticals' (LGND 5.88 -2.35) drug Targretin to be ineffective in significantly extending the lives of lung cancer patients... Electronic Manufacturing Services (-3.9%) closed lower after Bear Stearns downgraded Solectron (SLR 3.67 -0.59) and Sanmina-SCI (SANM 5.06 -0.21) while weakness in Steel (-2.6%) and a stronger dollar pressured the Materials sector (-0.5%)... News that Iraqi security forces surrounded Iraq's most-wanted Abu Musab al-Zarqawi arguably provided a modest boost to overall sentiment around the open; but even after the report was disregarded as a bad translation, stocks held their ground... ..DJTA -0.1%. ..DJUA +0.1%. ..SOX -0.1%. ..DOT +0.5%. ..XOI -0.3%. ..BTK -1.3%. ..Nasdaq 100 +0.2%. ..S&P Midcap 400 +0.1%. ..NYSE Adv/Dec 1454/1850. ..NASDAQ Adv/Dec 1412/1666.

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

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Today's Picks - March 29, 2005

1.   ELBO - Electronics Boutique

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
03-29		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 47.10

2.   FINL - Finish Line

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
03-29		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 22.27

3.   BJS - BJ Services

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
03-29		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 51.55

4.   X - U.S. Steel

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
03-29		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 51.91

5.   FSL- Freescale Semiconductor

Entry Date	Exit Date	Position	Entry Price	Target Price	Stop Price	Max P/L
03-29		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 16.95

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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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