Three Factors Boosting The S&P
U.S. stocks are up for a third day, led by
financial and computer-related shares, after a government report showed that job
losses slowed, adding to evidence the economy is improving.
Citigroup
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Stanley Dean Witter & Co.
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on optimism a market rebound will drive earnings from investment banking and
trading.
The S&P 500
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$SPX |
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1168.32. The Nasdaq
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$COMPQ |
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2046.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
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$INDU |
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64.49 to 10,236.63 after closing yesterday at its highest since Aug. 28.
For the week, the Nasdaq
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has gained 3.1%, the S&P 500 has climbed 0.7% and the Dow 1%.
Intel
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Smith Barney analyst said the company will earn more than expected this year.
Brokerage stocks, led by
Charles Schwab & Co.
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financial sector on the heels of an industry upgrade and improving economic
data. Among individual stocks, Goldman
Sachs
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were all upgraded to “buy” from “hold.”
Halliburton
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is no basis to the “spurious” rumor that it has filed for bankruptcy
or is even contemplating such a move; Halliburton also denies the rumor that the
company neglected to report a new adverse asbestos jury verdict.
Overture Services
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OVER |
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has climbed $1.79, or 4.7%, to $40.05, after U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray issued a
note saying that it learned on Thursday that Microsoft’s
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will start listing Overture search results on a test basis on Jan. 8. MSN is
among the three largest search outlets, and if fully implemented, could add 10%
to 15% or more to Overture’s 2002 estimates according to one analyst.
Adobe Systems
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$2.58, or 7.8%, to $35.66, after JP Morgan H&Q raised its rating on shares
of the publishing software firm to Buy and reiterated its 2002 estimates.
WebMethods
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second day, gaining $3.72, or 20%, to $22.74 and trading as high as $23.15. The
U.S. Department of Defense has chosen the maker of software used to link
different computer systems to integrate its internal procurement system. The
integration will help the department cut costs by connecting its employees to
the 30,000 vendors who supply it with products, WebMethods said.
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