Sam Collins

Buy on Weakness

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Friday closed lower for the third-consecutive day and turned the week negative, too. It was the worst week for the market in more than two months, with the S&P 500 (SPX) down 2.2%. 

Most of the losses could be attributed to disappointing economic news. A drop in durable goods orders and a smaller-than-expected rise in new home sales had an impact on the financial and building group.

And the Nasdaq (NASD) fell when BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM) said that future profits would not meet prior expectations. RIMM fell 17%, and Nasdaq was off .08%.

But there was some positive news: General Mills (GIS) reported fiscal Q1 earnings that topped estimates. And Sara Lee (SLE) jumped 6.4% after Unilever said that it will buy personal care brands from them for $1.9 billion.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was off 42 points to 9,665, the S&P 500 fell 6 points to 1,044, and the Nasdaq was down 17 points to 2,091. 

The NYSE traded 1.2 billion shares with decliners ahead by about 8-to-7. On the Nasdaq, 677 million shares were exchanged with decliners ahead by 3-to-2.

On Friday, crude oil (November contract) rose 13 cents to $66.02 a barrel, and the Energy Aelect Sector SPDR (XLE) fell 7 cents to $53.56. 

Gold for December delivery fell $7.30 to $991.60, and the PHLX Gold/Silver Index (XAU) was down $2.33 to $158.51.

What the Markets Are Saying

Friday was as dull as it gets, with low volume and breadth just slightly on the downside -- and it was the same in virtually every market. But so far the immediate support at the 20-day moving average line of the major indices is holding.