Blue Chips, Tech Issues Rise but Most Stocks End Lower
Help from some of the bull market’s recent no-shows drove the Dow Jones industrial average higher on Monday, but the broad market fell amid rising oil prices and higher bond yields.
As for Nasdaq: another day, another new high.
The Dow gained 85.63 points, or 0.8%, to 11,089.52, inching closer to its record high of 11,326.04 set on Aug. 25.
The Nasdaq index rose 0.7% to a record 3,392.56, as Internet stocks resumed climbing.
But in the broad market losers trounced winners by 22 to 9 on the New York Stock Exchange and by 18 to 15 on Nasdaq. Trading remained heavy.
A surge in oil prices to their highest level since 1991 helped make already jittery bond investors even more so (think: inflation). The yield on the Treasury’s 30-year bond ended at 6.19%, up from 6.16% on Friday and the highest since Oct. 28.
The Dow, however, still managed to close near its highs for the day with the help of stocks that hadn’t done much for the index lately.
Struggling Coca-Cola surged $4.88 to $65.38 after a Merrill Lynch analyst touted it. AT&T; jumped $5.50 to $52.06 as Excite@Home, in which AT&T; has a minority stake, jumped $5.69 to $57 after saying it will issue a “tracking stock” for its Web businesses.
And Microsoft rose $3.81 to $89.81 on optimism that it may resolve its antitrust fight with the government sooner than later.
Other major tech shares also were strong, helping to power the Nasdaq index to its 14th record close in 17 sessions. Oracle rose $1.31 to $77.44, Broadcom jumped $12.13 to $208.63 and IBM gained $3.94 to $107.88.
But it was the Internet sector that attracted the bulk of the buyers on Monday. Yahoo climbed $8.06 to $226.81, closing in on its spring peak of $244. America Online gained $4.75 to $163.38 and EBay surged $8.38 to $154.31.
Among Net issues hitting new highs were Infospace.com, up $11.25 to $94.25; and Foundry Networks, up $30.75 to $218.
Exodus Communications surged $16.25 to $117.75 after the manager of other companies’ Internet sites announced a 2-for-1 stock split.
Meanwhile, many European and Latin American markets were hit by profit-taking after strong recent runs. The German market tumbled 2.3%, French stocks lost 2.2% and the Mexican market slid 3.1%.
But Japanese shares hit new two-year highs.
Among Monday’s highlights:
* Energy stocks fell even as oil prices rallied--suggesting that some Wall Streeters don’t believe current oil prices can stick.
Chevron fell $2.06 to $91.13, Texaco eased 81 cents to $63.31 and Apache lost $1.94 to $39.38.
* Rail stocks were weak, which some analysts attributed to fuel-cost concerns, as oil prices rise. Burlington Northern Santa Fe fell $1.25 to $28.13 and Union Pacific slid $1.31 to $48.75.
But major airline shares perked up. Delta added 6 cents to $48.94.
* Financial and utility stocks weakened as bond yields rose. In fact, the Dow utility index fell to its lowest level since September, 1998.
While most utilities were lower, E’town soared $10.25 to $62.13 after Thames Water, the world’s third-largest water firm, agreed to buy the New Jersey utility for $68 a share.
Among financial shares, Wachovia fell $1.88 to $80.13 and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter lost $1.56 to $122.81.
* Bargain hunters may have been sniffing around tobacco stocks. Philip Morris jumped $1.88 to $27.50 and RJR Tobacco gained $1 to $23.50. A federal court in Minnesota denied certification of a class-action suit against the industry.
Market Roundup, C19
