Today's Market: Dow Ends Session Higher; Yahoo!'s Earnings Beat the Street

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(Updated from 4:09 p.m. EDT)

The three-martini lunch has basically gone the way of the USFL, but it would have worked today: buy heavily at the open, sell at noon, and let the vermouth do its stuff before coming back for some selective buying at 3:30 or so.

Oh, and don't buy tech. While Dow stocks were buoyed by positive earnings reports, the Nasdaq suffered under earnings warnings and continued selling of the Internet and semiconductor sectors.

Major Indices INDEX CHANGE % VALUE YR TO DATE Dow 80.61 +0.76% 10,727.19 -6.7% S&P 500 5.26 +0.4% 1480.88 +0.8% Nasdaq 23.91 -0.6% 3956.38 -2.8% Russell 2000 0.85 -0.16% 529.98 +5.0% TSC Internet 30.22 -3.9% 753.80 -34.7% NOTE CHANGE PRICE YIELD 10-Year Treasury 8/32 103 7/32 6.051%

After attaining as much as a 161-point gain, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back half of that, ending up 80.61, or 0.76%, to 10727.19. The S&P 500 finished up 5.26, or 0.4%, to 1480.88, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 23.91, or 0.6%, to 3956.38, led by losses in Yahoo! (YHOO Quote). The Russell 2000 was fractionally lower, losing 0.85 to 529.98.

After the bell, Yahoo! reported earnings of 12 cents per share for the second quarter, besting the First Call/Thomson Financial consensus of 29 brokers for earnings of 10 cents a share. In after-hours trading, the shares were up about 8 to 113.

The Dow was led by gains in International Paper (IP Quote), which beat earnings estimates by a penny, earning 75 cents a share for the second quarter, and Alcoa (AA Quote), yesterday's earnings winner.

However, the industrial average finished lower than earlier highs, and other indices also ended the day generally weaker than they were in the late morning. IP finished up 9%, while Alcoa gained 8%.

"I think [the late selloff] is earnings jitters," said Larry Rice, chief investment strategist at Josephthal. "I think there's general apprehension that if the economy is slowing down more, there's going to be more disappointing earnings projections."

Nonetheless, the advance marks the third straight day of gains for the 30-stock average, and represents the strongest upswing for the index since early June. The onset of earnings season, expected to be quite a positive one, is viewed as a potential catalyst for a hoped-for summer rally. Market participants are hoping for a change from June, when advances in the S&P were checked at every turn.

"The market's reverting back to cyclicals following Alcoa's earnings, and I-Paper's today," said Stephen Kroll, managing director at Moness Crespi & Hardt. "The market in general, for the first time in a while, is beginning to appreciate earnings. IP made 75 cents [a share, vs. the expected 74 cents]; Yahoo! may make 10 cents. Investors are keying on that."

It didn't help the technology stocks today -- especially Internet stocks, which were hammered from the word go. Yahoo! finished down 4% today, and TheStreet.com Internet Sector index dropped 30, or 3.85%, to 753.80. The 29-analyst First Call/Thomson Financial estimate for Yahoo! was calling for a dime a share.

Net Stocks Drag Down Tech

Other portal types with cute names, such as Lycos (LCOS Quote) (down 10.5%) and Excite@Home (ATHM Quote) (down 3.1%), were taken down today.

It's clear that investors heeded last week's Yahoo! downgrade by Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, which warned of diminishing ad revenues in coming quarters, and the potential move by advertisers to target fewer sites (which ultimately could benefit Yahoo!). Go.com (GO Quote), for one, hit a 52-week low today, dropping 6.2% to 9 7/16.

Other sectors within technology didn't having any fun today, either. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index ended down 2.7%, despite some positive comments from Merrill Lynch analysts attending a semiconductor conference on the West Coast.

Pinnacle Systems (PCLE Quote) said early this morning it expected to miss earnings estimates, destroying that stock. Pinnacle and software-maker Aspect(ASPT Quote), which yesterday warned it would miss estimates, were among the most hated on the Nasdaq today.

Pinnacle shed 59.4% and Aspect tumbled 54%. TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com joint newsroom wrote about Pinnacle this morning.

DoubleClick (DCLK Quote) dropped 10.5% today, after Merrill Lynch's Henry Blodget cut earning estimates for 2000 and 2001, citing, among other things, slower ad revenues. The stock was at a 52-week low.

Biotechnology stocks were strong, however, as the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rose 1%.

Broader Market Breadth Strong

But with top-tier earnings reports filtering into the market, that gave the broader New York Stock Exchange strength, especially in sectors where year-over-year comparisons are bound to be strong, such as cyclical stocks, among the strongest sectors today.

The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Forest & Paper Products Index was up 5.3% the American Stock Exchange Natural Gas Index gained 4.3% and the S&P Chemical Index was up 4.5%.

Today's relatively restrained advance in the Dow stocks was something of a relief to Rice, who's been watching the major indices swing wildly in the last two months in an attempt to find equilibrium for the last few months. That's especially true of the Dow and S&P, which have vacillated between slouching toward the low end of the range and bounding toward the upper end.

Some strategists have expressed the view that a continuously narrowing range is a positive development in the market -- it means investors are finding what it believes to be fair value for the overall market. That may have happened last week, and strong earnings could cause a breakout, Rice said.

"Stocks are OK," he said. "They're not undervalued like they were in April, and they're not overvalued, but if we keep going up 100 points a day, we'll get there quickly."

It didn't quite happen today, despite the Dow's late surge. Continued weakness in the technology components kept the market down, and part of the selloff was probably due to folks taking profits after the quick rally that followed Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's nonevent of a speech to the National Governors' Association.

What's the Future?

What's most crucial this quarter isn't just second-quarter earnings reports (save for notable disappointments), but comments from companies regarding the future prospects for business.

"I don't see any reason why we shouldn't have a rally, but I've got to be sure before I get in there and commit to it," said William Rhodes, chief investment strategist at Williams Capital, who added that three days of positive action in the Dow are a good start. "The real question to answer is, what happens in two or three quarters? Are those [earnings] numbers going to continue to advance? Now you're talking about difficult comparisons."

One bad example of that, albeit a minor one, was International Speedway (ISCA Quote), which reported strong second-quarter earnings, but said third-quarter earnings might decrease by 2 to 3 cents thanks to declining ticket demand. The stock was whacked, finishing down 19.8%.

Negative preannouncements only accounted for 65% of preannouncements this quarter, lower than the 83% norm, according to earnings watcher I/B/E/S.

Earnings power turned Quest Diagnostics (DGX Quote) into a Big Board highflier today. The stock rose 14.8% after it said it expects second-quarter and 2000 earnings to beat estimates, citing good volume trends and improving revenue per requisition.

Deutsche Telekom(DT Quote) captured attention today on reports that it made a bid for VoiceStream Wireless(VSTR Quote), a wireless company that operates throughout the U.S., in a deal worth over $40 billion. VoiceStream soared 11.3%, while Deutsche Telekom ended down 3.4%.

But many participants still believe that VoiceStream is not Deutsche Telekom's true target. TSC's Scott Moritz wrote about the merger mania in a story today.

Market Internals

Breadth was mixed on moderate volume.

New York Stock Exchange : 1,613 advancers, 1,294 decliners, 981 million shares. 73 new 52-week highs, 54 new lows.

Nasdaq Stock Market : 1,849 advancers, 2,166 decliners, 1.68 billion shares. 97 new highs, 82 new lows.

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Most Active Stocks

NYSE Most Actives

• Motorola (MOT Quote): 18.1 million shares.

• AT&T (T Quote): 17 million shares.

• Compaq (CPQ Quote): 16.1 million shares.

Nasdaq Most Actives

• JDS Uniphase (JDSU Quote): 39.4 million shares.

• Cisco(CSCO Quote): 31.9 million shares.

• BroadVision (BVSN Quote): 29.9 million shares.

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Sector Watch

Oil service stocks were strong as the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Oil Service Index gained 9%. Oil giant BP Amoco (BPA Quote) said it is raising its capital expenditure target to $13.5 billion a year through 2003. Halliburton (HAL Quote), which was upgraded by Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, was up 11.4%, while Schlumberger (SLB Quote) was sailing up 8.8%.

Other defensive names continue to move along strongly, including the drug and pharmaceutical names. The American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical Index was up just 0.8%, but Pfizer (PFE Quote) and health service/insurance companies, such as Cigna (CI Quote) and Cardinal Health (CAH Quote) were all reaching new highs.

Brokerages were in good shape today as well -- the American Stock Exchange Broker/Dealer Index was up 3.3%, as Merrill Lynch (MER Quote) hit a new high, closing up 2% to 129 5/8.

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Bonds/Economy

Treasuries were mixed after Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan passed up an opportunity to talk them down.

In a speech to the National Governors' Association this morning, Greenspan said nothing that could be construed as a hint about the likely outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee's next meeting, on Aug. 22. A small majority of market participants expect the FOMC to leave the fed funds rate unchanged, and Greenspan did not challenge that view, as some feared he might.

No major economic reports are slated for release today.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note lately was up 1/32 to 103 7/32, its yield at 6.05%.

International

The European bourses ended the day mixed.

London's FTSE turned around, after flip flopping on the stronger-than-expected inflation data which came out this morning. It closed up 9.6 to 6475.8.

Meanwhile, the Paris CAC also reversed a loss, ending up 2.93 to 6490.35, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax dropped 72.53, or 1%, to 6998.29 in late trading.

The euro was lately trading higher at $0.9523.

Asian markets were mixed overnight as concerns over local interest rates weighed on Japan, and Hong Kong felt the pressure of the Nasdaq's Monday slide.

In Tokyo, traders started to price in the possibility of a rate hike in Japan next week, after Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said the conditions were "all right" for another 25-basis-point rate hike. The Nikkei 225 index shed 68.32 to 17,504.36.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 120.99 to 17,359.66, but the upside was limited as profit-taking on key telecom shares emerged following the Nasdaq's drop yesterday.

Korea's Kospi shed 14.61, or 1.7%, to 836.86 after the market worried about the effect of a banking strike today.

Taiwan's TWSE index gained 3.96 to 8158.63.

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