Naz Preserves Gains
Respectable earnings from Microsoft and a high profile upgrade of America
Online helped rev traders up Friday enough to cause the Nasdaq to gap up at the
open above 2800 only to see that enthusiasm wane throughout the day. The Nasdaq
finished flat while the Dow eased 0.9% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.4%.
Nasdaq volume remained heavy and rose 5% above Thursday’s level, with 2.65
billion shares changing hands. NYSE volume also increased slightly, with 1.41
billion shares trading.
Despite the flat finish for the Nasdaq, traders were pleased to see the
average hold above the 2700 level which many see as a breakout above the
downtrend that started at the beginning of September. Year-to-date, the Naz is
sitting on a healthy 12% gain. Traders were also pleased to see the SOX
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hold above its 700 level.
“The Nasdaq is
clearly in a recovery mode, responding favorably to good news, which is much
different than as recently as four weeks ago. I would also say there is a strong
likelihood that as we continue through the earnings season with also another Fed
rate cut, that the Nasdaq continues to go higher,” said Scott Cummings, General Partner, Agile Asset
Management.
“Based on how high or how large
the move is, I think traders will then reassess come the end of the earnings
season whether or not the market is due for a pullback to consolidate some of
those gains,” he added.
According to preliminary numbers, the Nasdaq gained 1.92 to 2770.41, the Dow
lost 92.31 to 10,585.97, and the S&P 500 eased 5.43 to 1342.54.
Top sectors of the day were Internets
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technology
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1.4%.
Weakest sectors were forest and paper products
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airlines
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America Online
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Net analyst Mary Meeker. AOL rose 4.03 to 53.80 on nearly triple its average
volume after Meeker put a $75 target on the media giant.
Also strong in Net-land were Check Point
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up 6.9%, and AtHome
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Microsoft
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back the buyers as the software giant soared 5 1/2 to 61 on double average
volume.
In the B2Bs, Commerce One
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29%. Related B2Bs also jumping were PurchasePro
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FreeMarkets
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Looking ahead, the next big economic report due out is the Index of Leading Economic Indicators for December which will be released Monday at 10:00 AM ET.
Street estimates look for a 0.4% decrease.