March 4th 2011

News of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s mediation offer had eased some upward pressure on
oil pressure, leading to a dip in oil prices. This, in turn led to a drop in inflation expectations which
sent the gold prices plunging towards $1,415.20/oz. in the U.S. after previously soaring towards
$1,440/oz. Further positive news came from the jobless claims which saw a drop towards 368K,
below prior week’s claims of 388K and also better than the expected 398K.

The positive indication from the jobless claims number suggested that the nonfam payrolls scheduled
to be released on Friday will be on the strong side. The current consensus lies at 190K after a
puzzling January payrolls of 36K, while the unemployment rate is seen to rise to 9.2% from 9.0%.

Productivity in Q4 was also reported up more than anticipated earlier at 2.6%. Earlier, analysts
expected a rise of 2.2% in productivity, slower than the prior period’s productivity which was also at
2.6%. In the non-manufacturing sector, February saw another uptick in the ISM index. Analysts
previously anticipated a stagnant index at 59.4, but in the end the index hit 59.7 in February.

Elsewhere, in Europe the European Central President Jean-Claude Trichet has surprised the market by
saying that the central bank may rate hike in April. The hike is probably by 25 basis points and the
trigger is most likely the persistently high price of oil.

PC unit for 2011 and 2012 are forecast to be lower. In 2011, global PC shipments are seen to reach
387.8 million units, rising 10.5% from 2010, according to Gartner. Earlier, Gartner expected 15.9%
growth in 2011. In 2012, Gartner sees shipments to be at 440.6 million units, rising 13.6% from 2011
forecast but lower than Gartner’s initial forecast of 14.8% growth.

From the corporate side, nothing much happened on Thursday but WMT has increased its annual
dividend by 21% to $1.46 per share for the current FY11. This annual dividend will be paid each
quarter evenly at $0.365 per share.

CAT became the top performer on Thursday following the stock upgrade from NEUTRAL to
OUTPERFORM by Zacks Investment Research. Currently, Zack’s CAT target lies at $122. CAT led on
Thursday with 3.25% of gains.

Day Ahead
The market will focus on the jobs data on Friday, but it will also keep on monitoring the situations in
Libya. Already the Libyan rebels announced that they rejected Chavez’s mediation offer, hence the
oil prices have returned to the upside around $102.00 per barrel.

1 .DJI 12,258.20 (+1.59%) .SPX 1,330.97 (+1.72%) .IXIC 2,798.74 (+1.84%)

 March 4th 2011

Stock Focus: International Business Machines Corporation

IBM
Last Feb 25th Resistances 166.45 174.50 180.75 182.00 184.10
163.48 2.07% Supports 160.35 159.05 156.65 153.70 150.75
WTD MTD Outlook
0.74% 0.99%
POSITIVE
YTD 12-Month
11.39% 27.47% PT $180.75

2 .DJI 12,258.20 (+1.59%) .SPX 1,330.97 (+1.72%) .IXIC 2,798.74 (+1.84%)

 March 4th 2011

US Economic Calendar
Date Time Report Period Actual Forecast Previous
28-Feb 8:30 AM Personal incomes Jan 1.0% 0.9% 0.4%
28-Feb 8:30 AM Consumer spending Jan 0.2% 0.4% 0.5%
28-Feb 8:30 AM Core PCE price index Jan 0.1% 0.1% 0.0%
28-Feb 10:00 AM Chicago PMI Feb 71.2% 67.7% 68.8%
28-Feb 10:00 AM Pending home sales Jan -2.8% N/A 2.0%
1-Mar 10:00 AM ISM Feb 61.4% 61.0% 60.8%
1-Mar 10:00 AM Construction spending Jan -0.7% -0.1% -1.6%
1-Mar TBA Motor vehicle sales Feb 13.4 mln 12.4 mln 12.6 mln
2-Mar 8:15 AM ADP employment Feb 217K N/A 189K
2-Mar 2:00 PM Beige Book - - - -
3-Mar 8:30 AM Jobless claims 26-Feb 368K 398K 388K
3-Mar 8:30 AM Productivity Q4 2.6% 2.2% 2.6%
3-Mar 8:30 AM ISM nonmanufacturing Feb 59.7% 59.4% 59.4%
4-Mar 8:30 AM Nonfarm payrolls Feb - 190K 36K
4-Mar 8:30 AM Unemployment rates Feb - 9.2% 9.0%
4-Mar 8:30 AM Average hourly earnings Feb - 0.2% 0.4%
4-Mar 10:00 AM Factory orders Jan - 2.2% 0.2%

Price Performance - as of Mar 3rd 2011

Code Last Dy WTD MTD YTD 12-Mos Code Last Dy WTD MTD YTD 12-Mos
AA 16.63 2.78% -0.30% -1.31% 8.06% 16.78% JPM 46.08 1.92% -1.29% -1.31% 8.63% 2.97%
AXP 44.30 2.98% 1.77% 1.68% 3.22% 7.37% KFT 31.81 1.02% 0.32% -0.09% 0.95% 5.19%
BA 71.71 3.08% -0.82% -0.42% 9.88% -1.24% KO 65.57 1.77% 1.96% 2.58% -0.30% 19.22%
BAC 14.27 3.18% 0.49% -0.14% 6.97% -20.06% MCD 76.24 2.08% 2.42% 0.74% -0.68% 14.27%
CAT 104.25 3.25% 2.21% 1.28% 11.31% 65.87% MMM 92.81 1.63% 2.84% 0.63% 7.54% 11.06%
CSCO 18.53 0.16% -0.59% -0.16% -8.40% -28.81% MRK 33.10 1.60% 2.83% 1.63% -8.16% -11.38%
CVX 104.19 0.70% 2.05% 0.42% 14.18% 37.40% MSFT 26.20 0.46% -1.32% -1.43% -6.13% -10.55%
DD 54.55 2.81% 0.89% -0.58% 9.36% 46.48% PFE 19.77 3.02% 4.83% 2.75% 12.91% 15.28%
DIS 44.07 1.80% 2.61% 0.75% 17.49% 26.24% PG 62.55 0.22% -0.46% -0.79% -2.77% -1.14%
GE 20.75 2.12% -0.34% -0.81% 13.45% 14.01% T 28.13 -0.14% 0.00% -0.88% -4.25% 8.86%
HD 37.55 2.43% 1.27% 0.21% 7.10% 16.07% TRV 59.05 0.41% -0.92% -1.47% 6.00% 9.47%
HPQ 43.20 -0.09% 1.22% -0.99% 2.61% -18.72% UTX 83.85 2.19% 0.58% 0.37% 6.52% 13.91%
IBM 163.48 2.07% 0.74% 0.99% 11.39% 27.47% VZ 36.36 0.06% 1.08% -1.52% 1.62% 17.21%
INTC 21.79 1.40% -0.32% 1.49% 3.61% -2.24% WMT 52.01 0.08% 0.50% 0.06% -3.56% -6.46%
JNJ 61.05 0.39% 2.36% -0.63% -1.29% -6.37% XOM 85.82 0.87% 0.56% 0.34% 17.37% 28.13%

Disclaimer: This report is provided for information purposes only. It is not an offer to sell or to buy any securities. This
report has been prepared based on sources believed to be reliable, but there is no assurance or guarantee regarding its
completeness and accuracy. The author accepts no responsibility or liability arising from any use of the report.

3 .DJI 12,258.20 (+1.59%) .SPX 1,330.97 (+1.72%) .IXIC 2,798.74 (+1.84%)