Thursday: Nervous About the Jobs
Stock prices gyrated in a nervous session ahead of Friday's employment data, but at the end of the session major indexes finished little changed.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
gained 14.16 to 6437.10, the
Nasdaq Composite Index
added 3.09 to 1300.11 and the
S&P 500
lost 0.72 to 744.38. Small caps continued to perform well in the shaky market, with the
Russell 2000
stock index of small-cap issues gaining 0.95 to 359.05.
Ahead of the key employment report, Treasury prices fell broadly and the yield on the benchmark 30-year bond rose to 6.50%. Traders said major dealers sold positions in order to record some profits and flatten positions ahead of the jobs report. Economists expect the report to show 179,000 new jobs with some upward pressure on wages.
With interest rates jumping, financial stocks got slammed.
Citicorp
(CCI:NYSE) skidded 4 + to 101 5/8,
BankAmerica
lost 3 1/8 to 96 3/8 and
NationsBank
(NB:NYSE) fell 2 1/8 to 95 +.
Traders reported heavy institutional selling in
IBM
(IBM:NYSE), as big blue lost 3 + to 158 +. Other technology bellwethers also stumbled:
Intel
(INTC:Nasdaq) fell 1 + to 128 +,
Cascade Communications
(CSCC:Nasdaq) slipped + to 69 + and
Micron
(MU:NYSE) dropped 1 3/8 to 33 7/8. Computer makers, though, continued to surge.
Dell
(DELL:Nasdaq) added 3 + to 111 + and
Compaq
(CPQ:NYSE) gained 2 + to 84 5/8.
Oil price gains boosted oil stocks and raised interesting concerns about Christmas.
Exxon
(XON:NYSE) rose 1 1/8 to 95 and
Texaco
(TX:NYSE) added 1 + to 100 3/8. A report from
ISI
, an economics research firm, said higher oil prices have, in the past, translated into weaker retail sales.
Some retailers reported a head start on weak retail sales.
Men's Wearhouse
(SUIT:Nasdaq) dropped 4 3/8 to 21 7/8 and
Gymboree
(GYMB:Nasdaq) skidded 4 5/8 to 23 1/8. Both stocks reported weak November sales.
In takeover chat,
Newmont Gold
(NEM:NYSE) rose 1 1/8 to 48 5/8 after announcing plans to buy
Santa Fe Pacific Gold
(GLD:NYSE). Santa Fe gained 3 to 14 7/8.
Drug stocks slipped. A European court ruling may mean a tougher pricing environment in European markets.
Merck
(MRK:NYSE) slid 1 to 79 +,
Lilly
(LLY:NYSE) lost 1 + to 73 and
Johnson & Johnson
(JNJ:NYSE) dropped 3/8 to 51 5/8.
Networking equipment stocks put in a middling day--with the notable exception of
3Com
(COMS:Nasdaq). 3Com soared 3 to 79 + after upbeat reports flowing from conference presentations. Among other network equipment stocks:
Cisco
(CSCO:Nasdaq) added 1 to 64 + and
Ascend
(ASND:Nasdaq) fell + to 70 +.
Anchor Gaming
(SLOT:Nasdaq) soared 5 to 46 after hiring
Morgan Stanley
in order to "explore" possible restructuring efforts.
Oakley
(OO:NYSE) dropped 3 5/8 to 11 5/8. The shades maker is having trouble selling products to
Sunglass Hut
(RAYS:Nasdaq)--because Sunglass Hut is up to its ears in sunglasses already. Sunglass Hut fell + to 7 3/8.
National Semiconductor
(NSM:NYSE) rose 1 + to 27 + after reporting strong earnings.
By Dave Kansas