Dow Rebounds Past 10,000; Nasdaq Slips
Bargain hunters grabbed blue-chip stocks Monday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average soaring more than 176 points in a sharp recovery from last week’s sell-off.
The Nasdaq composite index, meanwhile, finished lower but well off its worst level of the day.
The Dow rose 176.53 points, or 1.8%, to 10,038.65, climbing back above the 10,000-mark that it dropped below Friday for the first time since last April.
But the sudden hunger for blue chips faded markedly as the day wore on: The Dow had been up almost 300 points before pulling back.
The Nasdaq index, which fell 124 points early Monday, finished with a loss of 12.65 points, or 0.3%, at 4,577.85.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.1% and the Russell 2,000 small-stock index edged higher. But losers marginally outnumbered winners on the New York Stock Exchange and on Nasdaq. Trading was active.
“Stocks never go up or down in a straight line. They bounce around, and that’s exactly what we saw in the market today,” said A.C. Moore, chief investment strategist for Dunvegan Associates in Santa Barbara.
In recent weeks, much of the stock market--especially blue-chip issues--has been battered by fears that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates to slow the economy.
The Dow sank 230 points, or 2.3% on Friday, and 3.5% last week, leaving it down nearly 16% from its mid-January record high.
But investors managed to look past rate concerns Monday, even as Treasury yields rose again, with the 30-year T-bond ending at 6.19%, up from 6.15% on Friday.
Stock buyers sought out issues that have fallen recently.
American Express bounced back $7.88 to $132.63, though the stock is well off its 52-week high of $169.50 reached Feb. 1 and is down 20% this year. General Electric, which is down 16% in 2000, rose $3.31 to $129.44.
Other consumer stocks also buoyed the Dow, including Home Depot, up $3.81 to $56.81 and Procter & Gamble, up $3.25 to $88.38. Those stocks are down 17% and 19%, respectively, this year.
Among the other equity highlights:
* Carnival rebounded $2.38 to $30 after the cruise operator, whose shares have sunk 37% this year, announced a $1-billion stock buyback plan, joining a brigade of major companies promising similar moves.
* DaimlerChrysler rose $2.19 to $65.69 after the car maker said profit rose 32% in the fourth quarter.
* Despite Nasdaq’s dip, several tech stocks showed strength, including Qualcomm, up $9.69 to $143.25; RF Micro Devices, up $23.94 to $138.94; and National Semiconductor, up $5.50 to $73.50.
* Superconductor Technologies surged 46%, gaining $31.38 to $98.88. The Santa Barbara company, whose shares are up twentyfold in 2000, said last week it plans to demonstrate a system at this week’s cellular trade show in New Orleans for preventing cell-phone calls from being dropped.
Elsewhere in the trendy superconductor sector, Conductus rallied $14.75 to $81.63, American Superconductor gained $6.88 to $69.25 and Illinois Superconductor leaped $11.94 to $29.38.
* Among Southland stocks, JMAR Technologies rose $4.25 to $15.44 on enthusiasm for its “bionic chip” technology, according to CBS.MarketWatch.com; SRS Labs climbed $3.75 to $17 as the company said it will present new products at the New Orleans wireless show; and Callaway Golf rose $1.25 to $12.63 as the Individual Investor Web site said the shares are “oversold.”
Also, JNI zoomed $13.44 to $78.44 and Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch rallied $3.56 to $32.69.
But Cathay Bancorp skidded $6.75 to $47.94 and GenesisIntermedia lost $3 to $25 after recent run-ups.
In foreign trading, indexes fell 5.3% in South Korea and 6.4% in China. Stocks were mixed in Latin America and mostly lower in Europe.
Market Roundup, C16
