Dow Up 33 as Stocks Break Four-Session Losing Streak
Stocks snapped a four-session losing streak to end higher Thursday, but worry about Asia’s economic turmoil and its effect on U.S. corporate profits kept investors on edge.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 33.63 points at 8,970.20, after losing more than 235 points in the last four trading sessions.
In the broad market, advancing issues led decliners 1,915 to 1,047 on moderate volume of 583 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The Nasdaq composite index rose 13.52 points to 1,794.62.
The yield on the bellwether 30-year Treasury bond fell to 5.82% from 5.84% at Wednesday’s close.
The dollar climbed against the yen as concerns about Japan’s shaky economy deepened. In New York, the dollar closed at 138.81 yen, up from 137.4 on Wednesday. It was last at this level in August 1991.
Analysts described the session was lackluster, with investors unsure of the market’s near-term direction.
“Investors are waiting for direction on two fronts--earnings and interest rates,” said Arun Kumar, senior U.S. equities strategist at Lehman Bros.
Analysts said they expect stocks to revisit their recent lows before mounting a significant new rally.
“The market is not fully corrected, and this is a temporary bounce,” said Frank Gretz, a technical analyst at Shields & Co. “I don’t think we are out of the woods.”
The blue-chip Dow index meandered through losses and gains as stocks groped for direction after their sharp sell-off.
The caution was fueled by further turmoil in Asia overnight, which pushed the dollar to a seven-year high against the Japanese yen.
“One of the reasons you see major downswings is because a lot of portfolio managers are under pressure to produce for the quarter and once stocks start falling, they bail out,” said Arthur Bonnel, manager of the Bonnel growth fund.
Chrysler was the Big Board’s most active, jumping $2.38 to $56.94. Traders said the No. 3 U.S. car maker’s stock was boosted by a rise of shares of merger partner Daimler-Benz, by $4.56 to $100.50.
The Standard & Poor’s composite index of 500 stocks rose 5.36 points to 1,097.59.
The NYSE composite index rose 3.17 to 567.10.
The Russell 2,000 index of smaller companies rose 5.55 points to 455.81.
Overseas, Tokyo’s Nikkei-225 stock average rose 0.8%, Frankfurt’s DAX index fell 0.2% and London’s FTSE-100 fell 0.1%.
Among Thursday’s market highlights:
* Sears rose $1.56 to $61.75, and Wal-Mart Stores rose $1.06 to $55.44 to lead the Dow, which also drew a boost from American Express, up $2 to $103.38, and Goodyear Tire & Rubber, up $1.81 to $68.88.
* Bellwether technology shares sagged after leading Wednesday’s rebound. Hewlett-Packard fell $1.56 to $63.88 as the Dow’s biggest decliner, and Dell Computer fell $1.63 to $84.50 as the most active Nasdaq issue.
* Paper companies fell for a second day after analysts expressed concern that the companies are struggling to get higher prices for their goods, and thus second-quarter earnings could be hurt. International Paper fell $1.81 to $46.94; Weyerhaeuser, which has large lumber operations, fell $1.19 to $50.88; and Georgia-Pacific, also a large lumber producer, fell $2 to $65.38.
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Market Roundup, D6
