Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks Features Big Lots, Costco Wholesale, Meredith, PMC Sierra, and XTO Energy

Business Wire, Oct 6, 2005

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the October 6 edition of Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks are Big Lots (NYSE:BLI), Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST), Meredith (NYSE:MDP), PMC Sierra (NASDAQ:PMCS), and XTO Energy (NYSE:XTO). Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks is just one of the many free market commentaries written every day at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRSHS1M&PAGE=1 .

Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks for Thursday, October 6, 2005:

A daily feature available on SchaeffersResearch.com is the "SPX Hot Stocks" column. Each afternoon, we will provide a list of the day's top-20 performing stocks in the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,209.04) as well as the bottom-20 names. Featured along with this table will be news that is moving some of the securities.

NOTE: Stocks trading under $5 per share have been eliminated from this listing of the top-20 and bottom-20 performing stocks.

The SPX has tumbled 0.84 percent this afternoon, after breaking below the 1,200 level in yesterday's session, when it visited lows not seen since July 7. With less than two-and-a-half hours left in trading, only 15 percent of the SPX's components are in positive territory.

Big Lots (NYSE:BLI) was the lucky leader on our list of top-performing SPX stocks this afternoon when I grabbed a snapshot of the market's activity. The company announced September same-store sales today, (which it calculates using sales at stores open at least two years, rather than the more conventional period of one year). The figure climbed by 2.9 percent and customers spent 4.5 percent more on each transaction, on average. BLI is based in Columbus, Ohio, and is the nation's number-one closeout retailer, according to Hoover's.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) is also piling up the gains today after the firm reported a 20-percent leap in fourth-quarter profits and improved sales. Earnings for the quarter increased to $354.7 million, or 73 cents a share, from a year-earlier profit of $296.8 million. Revenue rose to $16.7 billion from $15.14 billion, and same-store sales rose seven percent. CFO Richard Galanti commented on the "very low reported income tax rate of 28.9% for the quarter. Finally, the membership warehouse company says that it plans to buy back up to $1 billion in stock.

Meredith (NYSE:MDP) was founded in 1902, when Edwin Thomas Meredith began publishing Successful Farming magazine. A century later, the company publishes more popular magazines than I have space to list, own or operates 14 television stations one radio station. The Des Moines, Iowa, company was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" today by Citigroup, after the brokerage cited valuation and improving fundamentals. The stock gapped up strongly this morning.

Top of today's list of lack-luster losers is PMC Sierra (NASDAQ:PMCS), the Santa Clara, California, networker. On no discernible news, the stock made a perfect retest of former support in the 8.20 region. Trading volume was high, and I'm watching for more news.

XTO Energy (NYSE:XTO) also fell back today, amid falling oil prices. The stock was upgraded two days ago by J.P. Morgan to "overweight" from "neutral," and the advanced sharply on the news. For the past two days it has been pulling back.

Click the following link to see a Chart of the SPX 500 Index's Top-20 Percentage Gainers: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=14310 .

Click the following link to see a Chart of the SPX 500 Index's Top-20 Percentage Losers: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=14310 .

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About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com)

Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .