Market Traces a Rocky Course but Broadens Out
Investors' leper-like relationship with small-caps continued to turn around today as the long-laggard
Russell 2000
paced the market's major averages so far for the second day in a row.
But the well-known small-cap gauge is well off its session highs, as are all of the market's major averages, which came under a steady stream of selling pressure beginning around 11 a.m. EDT.
The Russell was turning in a decent performance despite the overall downswing in the market, and was up 3, or 0.7%, to 415.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
, meanwhile, was down 18 to 10,321.
Caterpillar
(CAT) - Get Caterpillar Inc. Report
was the best performer in the Dow, up 2 1/16 to 53 7/16.
The
Nasdaq Composite Index
slumped 18, or 0.7%, to 2580, after gaining earlier in the session. Tech stocks overall sat out
yesterday's rally, due in part to the postclose Friday earnings warning from
Compaq
TheStreet Recommends
(CPQ)
.
As for tech-sector barometers, the
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index
was down 2%, while the
Nasdaq 100
was off 1.6%. Meanwhile, the
Morgan Stanley High-Tech 35
was down 1.3%.
Meanwhile, the market in general and the tech sector in particular are anxiously awaiting the earnings report from
Intel
(INTC) - Get Intel Corporation Report
. Ahead of its earnings report, slated for after the close, Intel slumped 1/2 to 60 11/16. The chip giant was the most active issue on the
Nasdaq Stock Market
, with 20.1 million shares changing hands.
TheStreet.com
wrote about Intel in a story
this morning.
As for Compaq, it was most active on the
New York Stock Exchange
, with 32.6 million shares changing hands. It was unchanged at 24 1/16.
The big-cap
S&P 500
slipped 14, or 1%, to 1345.
Overall, there are more reasons to be positive than negative on the market, said John Roque, senior analyst at
Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder
.
"I wouldn't say everything's bullish entirely," but there's more money to be made on the long side, said Roque.
"Anyone who's trying to pick a top is being foolish," said Dick Stein, chief technical analyst at
Noble Financial Group
, speaking when the market was firmly on the plus side. Stein, marveling at the market's performance earlier in the day, said he had thought news that Serb forces crossed into Albania might unsettle the market. It didn't. (And the Serbs have since returned to their side of the border.)
"Nothing seems to bother it," he said of the market.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was down 13, or 1.6%, to 777. Conversely,
TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index
was soaring 6, or 4.3%, to 141 but was off its best levels of the session.
Brokerage stocks were still flying. The
American Stock Exchange Broker/Dealer Index
was up 5.5%, thanks to its online trading components and on the heels of strong earnings from
Merrill Lynch
(MER)
and
PaineWebber
(PWJ)
, whose numbers mocked Street estimates.
E*Trade
(EGRP)
jumped 12.2%, while
Charles Schwab
(SCH)
leapt 7.6%.
Roque noted that some long-forgotten sectors of the market have been embraced by the recent rally, including steel, chemical and forest and paper product stocks.
Today, forest and product stocks were higher, as the
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Forest & Paper Products Index
rose 2%.
As for the Treasury market, the 30-year Treasury bond was lately down 25/32 to 96 9/32, yielding 5.51%. (For more on the fixed-income market, see today's early
Bond Focus.)
Two key economic reports were released this morning.
Retail sales
rose 0.2% in March, while retail sales excluding autos jumped 0.5%. The
Consumer Price Index
rose 0.2% overall and 0.1% excluding food and energy prices.
Market internals, despite the downturn in the market, were positive.
On the
New York Stock Exchange
, winners were beating losers 1,522 to 1,361 on 489 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers were leading decliners 1,960 to 1,775 on 796 million shares.
On the NYSE, 95 issues had set new 52-week highs while 39 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 163 issues had set new highs while new lows totaled 67.
Among other indices, the
Dow Jones Utility Average
was down 0.4%, the
American Stock Exchange Composite Index
was down 0.1% and the
Dow Jones Transportation Average
was down 0.9%.
Tuesday's Midday Movers
By
Heather Moore
Staff Reporter
GeoTel Communications
(GEOC)
was flying up 11 3/4, or 26.8%, to 55 5/8 on news
Cisco
(CSCO) - Get Cisco Systems, Inc. Report
will buy it for $2 billion. Under terms of the deal, Cisco will exchange 0.51 of a share for each share and option of GeoTel. Cisco was down 3 9/16 to 114.
In other news:
Coca-Cola
(KO) - Get Coca-Cola Company Report
was up 1 3/16 to 63 1/16, down from an earlier 64 3/4, after
Merrill Lynch
upgraded it to near-term accumulate from neutral.
Informix
(IFMX)
, which makes software for e-commerce sites, was up 1 15/16, or 27.9%, to 8 13/16 after teaming up with
CyberCash
(CYCH)
, which makes e-commerce payment technology, to offer customers a secure way to process online business transactions. CyberCash was up 3 7/16, or 22.7%, to 18 9/16.
Metromedia Fiber Network
(MFNX)
was up 6 3/4, or 9.9%, to 75 after setting a 2-for-1 stock split.
MIH
(MIHL)
was up 1 5/8, or 9%, to 19 11/6 after last night Merrill Lynch priced its 9.1-million-share IPO top range. MIH is a multinational provider of pay-TV services and technology based in the British Virgin Islands.
Net.B@nk
(NTBK)
was up 29 1/2, or 18.6%, to 188 7/8 after setting a 3-for-1 stock split.
RealNetworks
(RNWK) - Get RealNetworks, Inc. Report
was down 8 3/4 to 238, down from an earlier 263 3/4, after news that it's buying privately held
Xing Technology
, a developer and provider of MP3 software, for up to $75 million in stock. RealNetworks expects to record a charge for acquisition-related costs after closing the deal, to be completed in the third quarter.
Charles Schwab was up 10 3/16, or 7.6%, to 145 3/16 after
CIBC Oppenheimer
upgraded it to strong buy from hold and set a price target of 200 a share. E*Trade was up 11 11/16, or 12.2%, to 107 3/4 and
Ameritrade
(AMTD) - Get TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation Report
was up 17, or 12%, to 159.
Earnings/revenue movers
Harley Davidson
(HDI)
was up 2 7/8 to 61 3/16 after last night reporting first-quarter earnings of 38 cents a share, 2 cents above the 14-analyst outlook and higher than the year-ago 29 cents.
Hewlett-Packard
(HWP)
was up 1 1/4 to 69 5/8 after Chief Executive Lewis Platt said the company is on track to record double-digit sales growth in 1999, with the second half of the year providing most of the strength. Platt sees a rebound in recently sluggish sales due, in part, to an expected recovery in Asia.
Rare Hospitality
(RARE) - Get Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc. Report
was up 3 15/16, or 29%, to 18 after last night saying it sees first-quarter earnings of 33 cents to 34 cents a share, excluding items. The six-analyst outlook called for 29 cents vs. the year-ago 22 cents. The company said its
LongHorn Steakhouse
unit provided most of the growth, with a 5.2% increase in same-store sales for the quarter.
Rent-A-Center
(RCII) - Get Rent-A-Center Inc Report
was up 3 1/4, or 12.9%, to 28 11/16 after last night saying it expects first-quarter earnings coming 20% higher than the eight-analyst forecast for 28 cents a share, reflecting its acquisition of
Thorn Americas
. The company earned 31 cents in the year-ago period.
Versant
(VSNT)
was up 9/16, or 33.3%, to 2 1/4 after last night saying it sees a first-quarter loss of 14 cents to 17 cents a share, including restructuring charges. The three-analyst view calls for an operating loss of 20 cents. The company lost 65 cents in the year-ago period.
In other earnings news:
