Market Wrap (Nov. 17, 2006)

DJIA 12,342.56; Up 36.74 (0.30%)NASDAQ 2,445.86; Down 3.20 (0.13%)S&P500 1,401.20; Up 1.44 (0.10%)10YR-Bond 4.607%; Down 0.048NYSE Volume 2,625,847,000NASD Volume 1,708,761,000This marked the 6th consecutive record close for the DJIA today. Hardly anyone bothered noting that today was options expiration date for stock options. Japan’s Nikkei closed down 0.45%; FTSE 100 in U.K. closed down 1.01%; Germany’s DAX index was down 0.48%; France’s CAC-40 closed down 1.20%.The big deal of the day was the NYMEX (NMX) IPO. Almost nothing else came close to it in coverage. It was such a ridiculous IPO pricing at $59.00, because it opened at $120 out of the chute and closed at $132.99.The homebuilding numbers tracked by permits and housing starts were just too weak to ignore at first, but they mostly recovered throughout the day. Lennar (LEN) closed down only -0.2% at $49.30, DR Horton (DHI)rose 0.6% to $25.10, and KB Home (KBH) rose 0.5% to $49.07.Lower oil prices yet again didn’t phase many key oil stocks with Exxon Mobil (XOM) rose 0.55% to $73.08 and Oil Service HOLDRs (OIH) rose 0.8% to $136.85.Conor Medsystems (CONR) rose 18% to $32.68 after J&J (JNJ) offered $33.50 to acquire the company. SurModics (SRDX) rapidly fell on the deal because they coat the J&J Cypher stent now, but they issued a release stating they would still be used and so the stock ran up to close up 7.75% to $34.49.H-P (HPQ) shares slid 1.25% to $24.94 despite beating EPS targets, as guidance is in-line.After yesterday’s earnings, Starbucks (SBUX) fell 5.1% to $37.42 because guidance was essentially the same as in its recent analyst meeting. Its revenues were deemed a tad light, but it was really large profit taking after a huge run.Under Armour (UARM) rose 0.65% to $46.55 after Cramer last night said that it offered upside from current levels along with Nike (NKE).Marvell Tech (MRVL) fell 2.9% to $19.04 after posting a sequential revenue decline.Google (GOOG) was reiterated a Buy with a $600 target at Citigroup, but it never was able to crack $500.00. Its high was $499.85, and it closed up 0.58% at $498.79.First Solar (FSLR) priced its IPO at $20.00 and closed up at $24.74.Sony (SNE) saw its ADR’s in the US trade up 2.1% to $40.79 as its long-awaited PS3 hit stores today.Altria (MO) rose 1.7% to $85.01 after raising guidance and as its “lights” case appears to have permenently gone in its favor.Foot Locker (FL) fell 2.7% to $23.27 after reporting a 2 percent decline in its third-quarter profit, and after the chances of a buyout are nearly gone.Advanced Magnetics (AMAG) rose a sharp 29.8% to $57.00 after it reported promising results from a late-stage clinical trial for an iron-replacement therapy for chronic kidney disease patients.Have a great weekend!Jon C. OggNovember 17, 2006