Nasdaq Quietly Climbs

August 24, 2000
Daniel Beighley

Signs that the economy continues to cool helped keep stocks in a positive
mood Thursday, allowing the Nasdaq to gain 1.1%, the Dow to add 0.3%, and
the S&P 500 to rise 0.2%.

Durable goods orders fell 12.4% in July, which was
much greater than the 7.7% drop that analysts had expected, and that reinforced
the view that the Fed may be finished with rate hikes for a while.

Volume was about on par with Wednesday’s fairly light levels, with 1.5
billion shares trading on the Nasdaq and 816 million shares trading on the NYSE.
Analysts noted that the market remains a stock pickers’ market, and that it also
remains in pretty decent shape.

"I’m seeing biotechs and selective technologies being bought. With the
Fed’s non-action this week and the 10-year Treasury at at least a one-year low,
it bodes well for the market right now," said Arnie Owen, Managing Director
of Equities, Cruttenden Roth.

"If you remember back to the beginning of the year, I said that every
year gets tougher, and this year the real challenge is going to be stock picking
as opposed to just buying anything in a sector. As we go along, and as the bull
run gets older, selectivity becomes the key," he added.

According to preliminary numbers, the Nasdaq rose 42.29 to 4053.30, the Dow
edged up 38.09 to 11,182.74, and the S&P 500 gained 2.34 to 1508.31.

Looking to Friday, the second quarter GDP will be released at 8:30 AM ET, and
Street estimates look for a rate of 5.4%. Also out at 10:00 AM ET are the July
existing home sales, and analysts look for a figure of 5.13 million.

Nasdaq Quietly Climbs

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

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