S&P;, Dow End Losing Streak
Major stock indexes edged higher Wednesday as investors did some last-minute buying ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, snapping a losing streak that had pushed prices to multiyear lows.
Still, dour forecasts from firms such as Advanced Micro Devices weighed on sentiment, and investors, bracing for the next big accounting blowup, fled shares of complex companies such as General Electric.
Despite the gains by the big indexes, falling stocks outnumbered advancers by 5 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange and by about 4 to 3 on Nasdaq.
“We’re going a little higher but don’t read too much into it,” said Anthony Iuliano, head equity trader for Glenmede Trust Co.
“We need to have a few more days of gains for it to mean anything.”
The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index broke a three-session losing streak to rise 5.90 points, or 0.6%, to 953.99. The index fell to a 4 1/2 -year low Tuesday. During Wednesday’s trading, it slipped below the 944.75 intraday low hit on Sept. 21 after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 47.22 points, or 0.5%, to 9,054.97, recovering from an early 110-point loss to register a gain for the first time in four sessions. The technology-laden Nasdaq composite index gained 22.35 points, or 1.7%, to 1,380.17, after sinking to five-year lows over the last two sessions.
Trading volumes were strong in early trading, but tapered off in the afternoon as the bond market closed early and many traders slipped out ahead of today’s holiday, when U.S. financial markets will be closed.
As was the case Monday and Tuesday, much of the Nasdaq volume was due to heavy trading in WorldCom, which rose 12 cents to 22 cents a share on volume of more than 1 billion shares.
Worries about potential terrorist attacks today kept many investors on edge, analysts said, but the market may be poised for a snapback after weeks of decline. Wednesday’s late rally added to those hopes.
U.S. markets are scheduled to close early Friday.
Economic news was mixed. Monthly factory orders came in better than expected, but a key gauge of the services sector disappointed investors.
Yields on short-term Treasury securities dipped while they inched up on longer-term issues.
The dollar fell against the yen and rose against the euro.
Among the market highlights:
* Chipmaker AMD fell 37 cents to $8.43 after cutting its quarterly sales forecast for the second time in two weeks. Rival Intel advanced $1.18 to $17.75.
* AOL Time Warner added $1.54 to $14.06, and Viacom rose $1.05 to $43. Investors have been dumping shares of media companies, in part because of accounting worries.
* Battered wireless stocks surged 14%, the biggest sector gainer in the S&P; 500. Sprint’s PCS Group, down 80% this year, rose 61 cents to $4.91. AT&T; Wireless Services added 75 cents to $5.76.
* Home Depot jumped $3.10 to $36.85, boosting the Dow. Other retailers also rose, as investors bet a resurgent economy will spur consumer spending. Wal-Mart Stores jumped $1.62 to $55.04, Target advanced $1.29 to $37.05, and Dillard’s added 87 cents to $25.56.
* GE sank as investors were spooked by scandals at other companies. GE at one point fell to lows unseen since October 1998, but closed down only 20 cents, to $27.90.
* European markets tumbled again, in part on continued weakness in Vivendi Universal shares, which lost more than 11%. Britain’s FT-100 index fell 3.4% to its lowest level since April 1997.
Market Roundup, C5-6
