When Good News Is Good News…
For the tenth time this year, the Fed lowered
rates — this time by 50 basis points to 2%, and the lowest level in 40 years.
The Fed also cleared the way for another ease this year; the next FOMC meeting
is Dec. 11. The market, which had sold off prior to the announcement, rallied on
the news, closing higher across the board.
The Dow closed at 9590.29 up 149.26.
The Nasdaq rallied 41.30 to 1834.95 on 1.9
billion shares. That’s up 28% since Sept. 11.
The S&P 500 closed at 1118.67, up 15.83 in
its third close above the 50-day moving average this week.
Sector leaders included banks
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2.33%, computer technology
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up 3.4%. Weaker sectors were airlines
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Cisco
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.04 yesterday, on revenues that fell by almost a third. CSCO closed up 3% to
18.47.
Hewlett Packard
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family will vote against the proposed Compaq
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members hold approximately 5% of the stock. Immediately after the Hewlett
announcement, Compaq said it “remained committed” to the deal. HWP
rose 17%, to 19.81. CPQ fell .49 to 8.50.
Managed health care provider AmeriGroup’s
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IPO shares traded up today. Priced at $17, AMGP closed at 20.90, up 3.90.
A federal appeals court vacated a ruling that
allowed Ivax
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anti-cancer drug Taxol. The popular, cheaper version of the drug had been on the
market for about a year. IVX fell 2.15 to close at 17. BMY spiked 2.49, closing
at 55.76.
Only half the sates suing Microsoft
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appear willing to accept the settlement reached with the Justice Department.
States likely to reject the proposed settlement include California and
Massachusetts. MSFT closed at 64.78, up 1.51.
Troubled Enron
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52-week low, to close at 9.67. Royal Dutch
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division of
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