Techs Lead Broad Rally; Bonds Quiet
Stocks rallied Thursday as Wall Street approached today’s widely awaited May jobs report with surprising confidence, but bonds ended little changed.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 35.63 points to 7,305.29, and the Nasdaq composite index, which took a sizable hit earlier in the week, gained 10.38 points to 1,390.05.
The broad rally, which first lifted technology stocks but spread quickly to financials, transportation stocks and other sectors, came as a surprise to many on Wall Street.
“It’s definitely intriguing that the market has the confidence to run up ahead of the employment number,” said Scott Bleier, chief investment strategist at Prime Charter Ltd. “This seems to be a bet on a benign number.”
Stocks got little support from the bond market, where the yield on the benchmark 30-year U.S. Treasury was little changed, edging down to 6.87% from Wednesday’s 6.88%. Also, stock market volume was relatively light, indicating many investors were holding back.
In a sign that strong consumer confidence levels haven’t translated into an inflationary surge in spending, several of the nation’s biggest retailers reported Thursday that sales were sluggish in May.
Investors also found some encouragement Thursday in a report showing that the number of American workers filing first-time claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly shot up by 19,000 last week. A similar trend in today’s jobs data could help persuade Federal Reserve Board officials to leave interest rates unchanged again at their next meeting on July 1.
The Standard & Poor’s composite index of 500 stocks rose 3.32 points to 843.43, and the New York Stock Exchange composite index edged up 1.46 points to 441.64. Advances outpaced decliners by a 3-2 margin on the NYSE.
The Russell 2,000 index of smaller companies rose 2.32 points to 384.99, setting its eighth new high in 10 sessions.
Among Thursday’s highlights:
* Technology issues turned in a particularly solid showing, rebounding after their recent downturn. Microsoft rose 1 3/8 to 120 9/16, Dell Computer gained 3 11/16 to 108 7/16, Gateway 2000 rose 3/8 to 62 1/8, Texas Instruments jumped 1/2 to 84 1/4, and Intel climbed 4 1/64 to 143 9/64.
* Oil and oil-field service issues bucked the trend and moved lower. The stocks are falling in tandem with a decline in crude oil futures prices, money managers said. Mobil slid 1 5/8 to 139 1/8, Chevron dropped 1/8 to 72, Exxon dropped 1/8 to 60 1/8, and Amoco slid 3/8 to 90 3/8.
* Tobacco issues rose on news that foes of the industry are near a compromise on the issue of shielding tobacco companies from punitive damages in lawsuits. Philip Morris rose 1 to 42 3/4, and RJR Nabisco Holdings gained 1 1/8 to 31 3/4.
* Fisher Scientific International surged 7 1/2 to 45 3/8 after the instrument and equipment maker received a recapitalization offer from Trinity I Fund LP.
In currency trading, the dollar fell against the yen after a key Japanese central bank official raised the prospect of higher Japanese interest rates.
The dollar fell to a low of 115.47 Japanese yen, its weakest level against the yen in more than a week, but recovered to settle at 115.72 yen late in New York, versus 116.27 on Wednesday. The dollar was unchanged at 1.7290 German marks.
Platinum for July delivery soared at the New York Mercantile Exchange, closing up the daily limit of $25 at $436.60 an ounce, a new life-of-contract high.
Overseas, London’s FTSE 100 added 19.1 points to 4,576.2.
In Tokyo, the 225-share Nikkei average shed 123.41 points to 20,488.15.
