Gold
	S&P &Futures (Click for latest)	Pre Market Futures (7:30)
		FTSE	+19
		TechMark	+4
		DAX	+16
Hang Seng +-	Nikkei +-	DOW	+23
		S&P	+3
		Nasdaq	+2

 

News Headlines:    In the US investors responded favourably to solid earnings from Texas Instruments and other companies, as well as confirmation of the demise of two of Saddam Hussein's sons. GlaxoSmithKline reports second-quarter results later on today. Talks between BA and unions representing its workers broke down in the early hours of Wednesday, raising the threat of more strike action oCordiant: The takeover battle for the advertising firm is set to come to a head at a key shareholder meeting to decide the company's fate. Scottish & Newcastle A host of bidders will submit indicative bids in the 2.3 billion pounds sale of the brewer's pubs business, HBOS is in talks with fund manager Active Value to consider a bid for UK greyhound track and gaming group Wembley, The Times said. iSoft said late on Tuesday it was in advanced talks to take over rival Torex Rio Tinto said strong demand for iron ore saw production jump 19 percent in the second quarterLastMinute.com is once again being suggested as a possible bid target. The Guardian newspaper reported talk of a U.S. suitor for Lastminute in its market report. Sainsbury AGM holds its annual shareholder meeting and is expected to report like-for-like sales in the first quarter were near flat from a year ago. Autonomy has posted a rise in second quarter revenues and profits and says deferred revenue has been at its highest level in three years, reflecting strong renewals Provident Financial says its pre-tax profits rose almost 10 percent in the first half of 2003 to 82 million pounds, slightly ahead of expectations Cadbury Later on Today. Calendar All GMT United Kingdom (F)inals (I)nterim United States (Click Flag) Europe & World Wed 23rd         ICadbury Schweppes (I) PBT 365m exp GlaxoSmithKline (Q2) PBT 1910m exp. Provident Financial (I) PBT 82.2m exp. Autonomy (Q2 GUS AGM & Q1 Trading Statement Sainsbury AGM & Q1 Trading Statement BPB (AGM), Colt Telecom (Q2), Cordiant (EGM), Egg (I), FKI (AGM), Invensys (AGM) 09.30 UK Bank of England Minutes Anheuser-Busch (Q2), AOL TimeWarner (Q2) Computer Associates (Q2), Boeing (Q2) Volvo (Q2) BPB (8.9), British Land (9.3), Burberry (2), Countryside Properties (2.62), Firstgroup (7.45), Galen Holdings (1.2), Granada (1), Hornby (19), John David Group (3.64), London Stock Exchange (3), Misys (3.55), Northern Foods (5.45), PHS Group (0.38),Wyndeham Press (2.5) Good Trading!   David@FTSEDOW.com    www.FTSEDOW.com            Pivot Calculator

The VIX (market volatility index) continues to see-saw above and below its 10-day exponential moving average. Generally, a move above the 10-day is coincident with declining equity prices and a move below it is coincidental with rising equity prices. Near the close on Tuesday, the VIX's 10 day exponential moving average was 21.71.

The markets are still just moving sideways.

Most indicators I reference are at neutral readings, offering nothing convincing about the direction for prices over the short run.

The VIX will probably have to stay below 21.50 (which is under its 10-day exponential moving average) to suggest higher prices.The (VIX) fell around 5.2% to 20.98. The potential for sideways markets is increasing as the thickest part of the summer vacation period is only a week or so away and that might mean a lack of buying interest.

Relatively high put/call ratios near the end of the session on Tuesday suggest that there could be at least some upside in the morning on Wednesday, but these markets probably need a huge headline to inspire buying. The PUT/CALL ended at 0.77 points

Resistance: For the Nasdaq, 1722-1758 now represents big resistance.

Immediate Nasdaq resistance is 1707-1720, with a focus of resistance at 1709.73-1715.79.

The S&P 500's former trading band is now big resistance at 988-1015.41. Its focuses of resistance are 993-1000 and 1010-1015.

Support: The S&P 500 has an important layer of support (stacked) at 988-974. In Monday's session, the S&P 500 printed an intraday low of 975.63. The S&P 500 has an important support level at 974; if it were to spend more than just a few minutes below this level without attracting buyers, I think that would be a sign that the buyers are not interested at current levels and they are probably going to stand back, waiting for lower prices. This means that if prices spend time (more than 10 minutes) below 974, then I would expect the thin shelf of support at 970-964 to fail and that prices will probably have to test 949-912 support. This scenario would not have to unfold one trade day after another, short-term oversold rebounds in price are a natural phenomenon.

The Nasdaq has supports which run from 1699 to 1653. The layers inside this broad band of support are 1699-1697, 1686-1653, with a focus of support at 1682-1664. Due to the nature of the rise since the March lows, Nasdaq supports are stacked; the next support is 1648-1598.

March through June and July saw big stock market gains. The .382 Fibonacci retracement level for the S&P 500 is 930, for the NASDAQ it is roughly 1583. A 50% retracement of the March intraday low to the July intraday high would be about 902. If you looked at a 50% retracement of the worst close to the highest close, it would be about 904. For the Nasdaq, a 50% retracement from the lowest low to the highest high prints would be roughly 1515.

OEX $-weighted put/call @ Tue Jul 22 16:10:00 2003: 0.61 (calls: $15924700; puts: $9713950).

QQQ $-weighted put/call @ Tue Jul 22 16:10:00 2003: 1.81 (calls: $4885200; puts: $8843790).