Technology Shares Rebound in Broad Market Rally
Money poured back into the market Friday in a rally that not only reversed much of the three-day tech sector tumble, but also boosted the Dow industrials to a record and fueled “old economy” stocks still higher.
“The small investor is very attuned to buying on any dips,” noted Tim Stevenson, a money manager with First Union National Bank. “It’s worked very successfully for a number of years.”
But very heavy trading Friday suggested many big investors, not just individuals, also were involved in bargain hunting after the profit-taking that slammed the market at midweek.
About 1.2 billion shares changed hands on the Big Board, its fourth-busiest day ever. About 1.6 billion shares changed hands on Nasdaq, the sixth-most on record.
With Friday’s 269.30-point, 2.4% rally, the Dow ended at 11,522.56 and is up 0.2% for the year. But most other indexes lost ground for the week despite strong gains Friday.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 surged 2.7% on Friday but was off 1.9% for the week. The Russell 2,000 small-stock index gained 2.7% on Friday but was down 3.3% for the week.
Among Friday’s equity highlights:
* Investors flocked to drug stocks, a sector that had fallen 19% last year. So far this year, it’s up 10%, led by Merck, up $6.56 to $74.94 on Friday; Bristol-Myers, up $8.75 to $68.50; Pfizer, up $2.19 to $34.50; Eli Lilly, up $4.88 to $71.06; and Amgen, up $6.88 to $68.
* In the retail sector, Wal-Mart soared $4.81 to $68.50, Dayton Hudson jumped $3.31 to $67.50 and Home Depot leaped $3.50 to $63.50.
* Among classic blue chips, Procter & Gamble soared $8.63 to $116.50, Coca-Cola rose $3.75 to $60.75 and General Electric surged $5.63 to $151.31.
* The Internet sector rebounded with the help of Yahoo, up $39.06 to $407.25; Inktomi, up $8.88 to $89.38; Broadcom, up $36.63 to $266.50; and Lycos, up $6.06 to $70.75.
Among major tech stocks, Intel gained $3.25 to $82 and Sun Microsystems surged $3.88 to $71.88, but Dell lost $1.81 to $46.19 and IBM eased 50 cents to $113.50.
* In the telecom sector, Lucent traded the most shares ever in the U.S.--179.1 million--passing a record set by Oracle in 1997. The No. 1 telephone equipment maker had warned late Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter profit fell. Lucent plunged $20.38 in after-hours trading Thursday, but recovered slightly Friday, rising $2 to $54.
Among other telecom issues, JDS Uniphase rocketed $30.19 to $179.94 as Lucent’s woes suggested its rivals may benefit. Cisco Systems raced $5.88 to $105.88, Nortel Networks jumped $14.06 to $91.06 and Qualcomm rose $9.94 to $150.
* Nokia’s shares rose $18 to $171 as the cell phone maker said it doesn’t have enough Internet phones to cope with demand.
* BJ Services rose $4.38 to $44.81 as the oil field services company expects higher-than-forecast earnings for the latest quarter.
* 99 Cents Only Stores rose $1.88 to $38.63 as the retailer said sales at stores open a year or more rose 10% in the fourth quarter.
* Plug Power soared for the second day, rising $42.75 to $79 after Microsoft’s Money Central Web site touted the stock. Mechanical Technology, which owns 38% of Plug Power, rose $12 to $35.50. Other fuel-cell producers also rose amid growing investor interest. Ballard Power Systems rose $3.63 to $38.25 and FuelCell Energy rose $5.88 to $29.88.
* Most foreign markets rose, with leading indexes up 4.7% in Germany, 1.6% in France, 4.4% in Mexico and 1.3% in Brazil.
Market Roundup, C4
* MAIN STORY: A1
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Battling Back
Tech stocks rallied strongly Friday after their three-day tumble, sending some into the black for the year. Among the day’s gainers:
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Ticker Friday YTD % Company symbol close change change PeopleSoft PSFT $24.88 +$2.88 +16.7% JDS Uniphase JDSU 179.94 +30.19 +11.6 RealNetworks RNWK 132.06 +18.88 +9.8 Genentech DNA 136.88 +8.88 +1.8 Ciena CIEN 57.75 +11.88 +0.4 Cisco Systems CSCO 105.88 +5.88 --1.2 EMC EMC 107.38 +11.38 --1.7 America Online AOL 73.69 +4.94 --2.9 Conexant Systems CNXT 63.19 +8.00 --4.8 Yahoo YHOO 407.25 +39.06 --5.9 Nortel Networks NT 91.06 +14.06 --9.8 Nokia NOK 171.00 +18.00 --10.5 Qualcomm QCOM 150.00 +9.94 --14.8 Nasdaq composite 3,882.62 +155.49 --4.6
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Sources: Bloomberg News, Times research
