Not Since December 2000…
After
a dicey open, the major indexes moved higher for the morning, put in
choppy action mid-day, then staged an impressive rally into the close. The
biggest gainers were in airlines, Internet, oil service, computer hardware, and
telecoms, with the heaviest losses in semiconductors.
Still lagging this market is
the Semiconductor Index
(
SOX.X |
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PowerRating), down 1.25% at 357.27, as it closed
just under its 50-day moving average. It was a good sign yesterday when the
sector shook off negative news from Intel
(
INTC |
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PowerRating), down 2.19% at
19.16, but today’s lifeless activity is giving us a different message.
The major indexes are set to
close positive for the fifth straight week — for the first time since December
of 2000.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU.X |
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PowerRating) closed up 1.07% at 9053.64. The
S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
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PowerRating) closed up 1.40% at 962.71 at. The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
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PowerRating) closed up 0.97% at 1422.94.
U.S. Treasury Bonds were
down ’30 at 108 ’27.
In economic news, initial jobless claims came in at
389,000 vs. an expected 385,000. There are no scheduled economic reports for
tomorrow.Â
Market breadth was positive,
with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 1.94, and up
volume over down volume by a 3.75 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining
issues came in at 1.35, and up volume beat down volume by a 2.89 ratio. The
VIX
was down 0.67 at 30.96. The TRIN
was down 0.26 at 0.52.
Below-average volume had the Dow, the S&P 500,
and the Nasdaq closing at the top of their daily ranges. The Broker/Dealer Index
(
$XBD.X |
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PowerRating), , also closed at the top of its daily range.
The top sectors of the day were the Airline
Index
(
$XAL.X |
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PowerRating), up 5.17% at 51.03, and the CBOE
Internet Index
(
$INX.X |
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PowerRating), up 1.40% at 962.70.Â
Losing
sectors of the day were the Semiconductor Index
(
$SOX.X |
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PowerRating), down
1.25% at 357.26, and the Mexico Index
(
$MXY.X |
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PowerRating), down 0.58% at
85.06.
Investment banker J.P. Morgan
(
JPM |
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PowerRating), down 0.70% at 26.69, came
under pressure after Moody’s Investors Service announced that it might cut the
company’s debt rating due to concerns over current and prospective
profitability.
Oil stocks pushed higher with crude oil prices at 15 month highs. Among the
advancers were: Baker Hughes International
(
BHI |
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PowerRating), up 5.57% at 29.61, Haliburton
(
HAL |
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PowerRating), up 5.41% at 15.00, and Schlumberger
(
SLB |
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PowerRating), up 7.00% at
44.00.
In the brokerage sector Merrill Lynch lowered its 2002 earnings estimates on
the following: Goldman Sachs
(
GS |
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PowerRating), up 0.03% at 79.91, Lehman
Brothers
(
LEH |
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PowerRating), up 0.37% at 59.20, and Morgan Stanley
(
MWD |
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PowerRating),
down 0.41% at 45.21. The firm cited “difficult credit markets, which have
impacted fixed income business.”
Software giant Microsoft
(
MSFT |
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PowerRating), up 1.81% at 52.23, received an
upgrade from Salomon Smith Barney to “outperform” from
“neutral” based on indications from an information technology spending
report.
Also in the software sector, JD Edwards
(
JDEC |
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PowerRating), up 19.66% at
14.18, rose on better than expected fiscal third-quarter profits. Also up were PeopleSoft
(
PSFT |
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PowerRating), up 9.23% at 21.30, and Oracle
(
ORCL |
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PowerRating), up 4.08% at
11.20.
Retailer Williams and Sonoma (WSM),
down 6.19% at 25.00, beat its second-quarter earnings expectations
by four cents with profits of 12 cents per share.
Book seller Barnes and Noble
(
BKS |
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PowerRating), down 2.13% at 22.93, fell
after it was announced missed its earnings expectations and lowered its profit
targets for the year.
Biotech company Myriad Genetics (MYGN),
down 5.42% at 22.50, missed its fourth-quarter earnings expectations by
10 cents with a loss of 29 cents a share.
Clothing retailer The Limited (LTD),
up 1.80% at 16.91, beat its second-quarter earnings expectations by 4 cents with
profits of 16 cents per share.
Software and programming company Synopsys
(SNPS),
up 7.38% at 47.25, beat its third-quarter earnings estimates by 3 cents with
profits of 53 cents per share.