Nasdaq---Julie (slow)
>> the nasdaq rose as much as .9% today after dropping off as the day progressed and ended lower, down 1. 5%, in fact. julie hyman has details on today’s nasdaq trading from the nasdaq marketsite in times square.
>> the 1.5% drop we saw in the nasdaq today was actually its biggest in two weeks. it has fallen in four of the past five sessions. we gained much of the day and sharply fell later in the day. many of the stocks we saw gain earlier in the day, semiconductors in particular, fell later in the day. looking at the philadelphia semiconductor index, it finished the day 1.5% lower after rising and falling. it was helped initially by applied materials and broadcom on higher forecasts but then it fell late in the day with other big company like intel, as well. looking within the nasdaq, the biggest decliners group-wise were telecommunications and computer stocks, falling 2.2% and 1.9% respectively. all of those stocks declining by the end of the day. as for specific movers whose news matched their direction, we had intuit, down 8%, world’s biggest maker of tax preparation software, saying hprofit excluding costs would be $1.12 to $1.16 a share however analysts were expecting $1.23 a share. a.d.c. telecommunications, its second-quarter forecast was for break even in terms of profit where analysts expected a one-cent gain, sales coming in behind forecasts. we saw some forecasts today, a mixed day, some behind, some above but it looks like the ones that were worse than expected won out by the end of the day.
>> in other news today, drugmaker eli lilly plans to grow sales at least 10% this year. the maker of anti-depressant prozac and new impotence drug, cialis, says its strategy is to remain independent. as the business council meeting in florida today, eli lilly’s chief executive says mergers don’t create growth in the long run. eli lilly is relying on its strong research to grow the company. and they say they have one of the best pipelines in the industry. one of the themes taking centerstage at the business council meeting today is the outsourcing of u.s. jobs. eli lilly’s c.e.o. says it’s taking some research overseas but the majority of work continue will remain in the states.
>> we have created a new chemical research center in china but the growth that we are experiencing in the u.s. and in europe is much faster than the investment we are making there. we are creating much more jobs here than there.
>> eli lilly shares are higher today. they’ve gained 25% over the past 12 months. turning to world and national news, now, the u.s. civilian administrator in iraq says the june 30 target for transferring political authority to iraqis is firm.
