Liste Newsletter

Index Performances
EPITEX, EPITA’S INDEX EPITEX at close of trading, Oct. 31, 2003: 86.72 Combined share value in EPITEX: $561.30 Average per-share value in EPITEX: $ 28.06 (EPITEX set at 100 on Aug. 31, 2001)

News

MARKET FOCUS

U.S. equities ended little changed on Friday, bracing up for the major economic reports coming out, as usual, in the first week of the month.

There was further good news on the economic front after a surprise jump in third-quarter Gross Domestic Growth (GDP) growth to 7.2 percent, the fastest pace in two decades.

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose to 89.6 in October from 87.7 in September, confirming the uptrend already seen in the Conference Board’s gauge of consumer confidence.

Also, the Chicago PMI index of regional manufacturing surged to 55 from 51.2 in September, well above the reading of 50 that signals the beginning of an expansion in the sector.

Cisco Systems posted gains ahead of reporting its quarterly financial numbers next Wednesday.

OUTLOOK

Investors will focus on the ISM national survey of manufacturing on Monday, which could deliver a good surprise, given the strength of the regional Chicago PMI report. The ISM index is expected at 55.4, up from 53.7 the prior month.

The main report of the month comes out on Friday, with payrolls expected to have added 40,000 jobs in October following a gain of 57,000 in September.

THE NUMBERS

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 14 points, or 0.1 percent, to 9,801. The Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 1 point to 1,932, while the Nasdaq-100 index of large-capitalization tech and biotech stocks lost just one point to 1,416.

Profile

Worldwide semiconductor sales in the third quarter rose 13.7 percent sequentially and were up 17.5 percent compared to a year ago, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

The San Jose, Calif.-based industry group said the increase resulted from strong demand for PCs.

In the third quarter, chip sales rose to $43.3 billion, including $14.4 billion in September, which was the seventh straight month to show an increase. The 6.5-percent gain in September also was the strongest percentage increase since 1990.

“September and third-quarter data confirm that demand in the global semiconductor market is rising briskly,” said SIA President George Scalise. “Performance is strong in all major market sectors -- computation, communications and consumer, indicating a solid, continuing and broad-based growth cycle.”

Strong PC sales drove a 33-percent surge in sales of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips and a 24-percent jump in microprocessors sales, while cellular phones fueled a 27-percent rise in flash memory sales and a 20-percent rise in digital signal processors, the SIA said.

By geographic areas, sales increased by 19 percent in Asia Pacific, 12 percent in Europe, 11 percent in Japan and 8.6 percent in the Americas.

The SIA is forecasting revenue growth of at least 10 percent for 2003 and greater double-digit growth in 2004, in a robust recovery from its worst downturn from 2001 on.

The SIA sales data are tabulated by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics.