Naz Snaps Back
Subdued congressional testimony from Alan Greenspan helped temper concerns
over some stronger-than-expected economic numbers Tuesday, as the Nasdaq worked
its way back above 4000 after gaining 1.2% for the day. The Dow and S&P 500
were up 0.1% and 0.7%, respectively. Â
Existing home sales for June were 5.23 million units, which was more than the
5 million that analysts had expected, while consumer confidence also came in
higher-than-expected, posting a 141.7 figure after the Street had expected just
139. Once again, the hard-charging consumer remains optimistic despite more than
a year’s worth of rising interest rates.
NYSE volume was 968 million shares, which was up by about 12% from Monday’s
level, and 1.47 billion shares traded on the Nasdaq, which slightly exceeded
Monday’s level. Traders commented that the day was quiet like any typical summer
session.
“I think what we’re getting today in the market is a rally from an
oversold tech and telecom market yesterday. The Nasdaq took most techs and
telecoms down quite a bit yesterday, and today’s the reflex rally that usually
comes after days like that,” said Art Hogan, Chief Market Analyst, Jeffries
& Co.
Top sectors included insurance
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$IUX.X |
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up 2.7%, broker/dealers
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up 1.7%.
Weaker sectors included drugs
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$DRG.X |
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down 2.4%, and biotechs
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According to preliminary numbers, the Nasdaq gained 47.98 to 4029.55, the Dow
rose 14.85 to 10,699.97, and the S&P 500 added 10.18 to 1474.47.
Powering the Nasdaq was big-cap tech giant Sun Microsystems
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which gained 8 9/16 to 109, for an all-time high close.
Also posting solid gains in tech were Qualcomm
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3/8, Yahoo!
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to 45 1/4.
Broker/dealers on the move included Bear Stearns
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up 5%, DLJ
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Dow winners were Honeywell
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with each up more than 3%. The Dow losers were Hewlett Packard
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MMM |
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PowerRating), with each down by more than 3%.
The next big economic news day is Thursday when the Employment Cost Index and
the June durable goods orders will be released at 8:30 AM ET. Analysts look for
a 1.0% rise in employment costs and a 0.5% increase in durable goods orders.
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