Broad Market Posts Advance as Techs Lead
Stocks staged a broad advance Thursday, though that wasn’t evident from the Dow Jones industrial average.
A rush back into technology issues helped push the Nasdaq composite up 95.63 points, or 2.9%, to 3,429.02, highest since Oct. 23.
Winners topped losers by 25 to 14 on Nasdaq in heavy trading.
The Dow, however, eased 18.96 points, or 0.2%, to 10,880.51, in profit taking after the surge of the last week.
But rising stocks still outnumbered losers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The battered tech sector got a lift after chip giant Intel Corp. said fourth-quarter sales are on track to meet forecasts. The firm also previewed plans for faster processors during a meeting with analysts and investors.
“We have started well in the fourth quarter,” Sean Maloney, Intel’s vice president of sales and marketing, said of sales in Europe--a soft spot for Intel in the third quarter.
Intel shares rose $1.81 to $46.69, highest since late September.
The tech sector managed to shake off an early plunge in shares of software giant Oracle, on rumors that one or more key executives were resigning.
Meanwhile, some “old economy” sectors also were hot on Thursday. Many beaten-down retail stocks gained, for example, despite some disappointing October sales reports.
Many retailing issues have been trading down for months on worries that moderating economic growth would hurt their bottom lines. Some investors must feel the stocks already reflect the worst possible scenarios.
Also gaining Thursday were many financial, construction and restaurant issues.
In other markets, the euro currency snapped a five-day rally against the dollar as a bigger-than-expected jump in third-quarter U.S. productivity bolstered some analysts’ expectations the U.S. will continue to attract investors.
The euro slipped to 86 U.S. cents, down from 86.1 cents Wednesday.
Crude oil prices fell as prospects for an agreement to end violence between Israelis and Palestinians eased concern that the conflict would lead to a disruption of oil exports from the Middle East.
Near-term oil futures in New York fell 71 cents to $32.54 a barrel.
Markets today will contend with the government’s report on October employment trends.
Among Thursday’s highlights:
* Chip stocks rallying with Intel included Cypress Semiconductor, up $2.19 to $38; Qlogic, up $10.69 to $106.31; Rambus, up $2 to $50.63; and Conexant Systems, up $5.06 to $30.44.
But Micron Technology fell 31 cents to $35.31 and Applied Micro Circuits fell $5.75 to $67.88.
* Other major tech winners included Sun Microsystems, up $3.19 to $109.06; Adobe Systems, up $3.56 to $80.81; Veritas Software, up $10.56 to $153.69; and Cacheflow, up $4.50 to $124.
In the Internet sector, Inktomi rose $4.31 to $71.50 and America Online gained $2 to $54.
* Biotech stocks were mostly higher, led by Imclone Systems, up $6 to $63.81; Entremed, up $4.38 to $36.75; and Abgenix, up $8.69 to $91.38.
* Amid October sales reports, retail stocks advancing sharply included Ann Taylor, up $5 to $33.94; American Eagle Outfitters, up $3.44 to $38.06; Gap, up $2.75 to $27.19; and May Department Stores, up $2.06 to $28.38.
* Many financial issues gained, including Merrill Lynch, up $1.31 to $69.81; Citigroup, up $1.56 to $53.06; and Axa, up $1.81 to $69.38.
* WorldCom fell $1.38 to $17.56, for a two-day loss of 26%. The No. 2 U.S. long-distance phone company announced a restructuring this week, but investors weren’t impressed.
* Energy stocks pulled back. Chevron lost $2.31 to $80.50, Royal Dutch sank $4.19 to $57.25 and Anadarko Petroleum slid $5.70 to $60.94.
Market Roundup: C7, C8
