NAPM Report Pushes Stocks Off Session Lows
Soothing economic news helped drive the 30-year Treasury bond off its session lows and lift most major market barometers into positive territory.
The
National Association of Purchasing Management
said its
TST Recommends
Purchasing Managers' Index
slipped to 52.8 in April from 54.3 in March. The long bond erased its early loss, up 5/32 to 94 9/32, yielding 5.65%. On Friday, two economic reports, which showed vigorous economic growth, sparked fears of an overheating economy and worries that the
Federal Reserve
might have to raise interest rates to cool it down.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was up 61 to 10,850. The
S&P 500
was up 3 to 1338.
The
Nasdaq Composite Index
was down 5 to 2538. The
Russell 2000
was up 2 to 435.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was up 11 to 645.
Meanwhile, in the news,
MediaOne Group's
(UMG)
board has accepted
AT&T's
(T) - Get Report
$85 cash-and-stock offer for the company, which the board said was a "superior proposal" to the previous merger deal MediaOne reached with
Comcast
(CMCSA) - Get Report
. Under terms of the Comcast deal, Comcast has until Thursday to respond to the AT&T proposal.
AT&T and Comcast rose, while MediaOne slipped.
On the
New York Stock Exchange
, advancers were beating decliners 1,565 to 958 on 215 million shares. On the Nasdaq, winners were beating losers 1,749 to 1,421 on 255 million shares.
On the NYSE, 26 issues had set new 52-week highs while 11 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 48 issues had set new highs while new lows totaled 16.
Meanwhile, one of the contributors to the market's recent surge has been attributed to strong first-quarter earnings. Some market analysts lately have wondered where the market might get its inspiration for more upside, now that the earnings season is drawing to a close.
A handful of earnings reports were released this morning.
Arco
(ARC) - Get Report
posted first-quarter operating earnings of 53 cents a share, vastly outstripping the First Call 21-analyst estimate of 29 cents, but down from the year-ago 65 cents.
theglobe.com
(TGLO)
reported a first-quarter pro forma loss of 47 cents a share, narrower than the First Call two-analyst estimate of a loss of 55 cents. Its stock jumped on the news, up 6 3/4, or 11%, to 67 3/8.
On the Big Board,
America Online
(AOL)
was most active, with 6 million shares changing hands. It was down 5 3/4 to 137.
On the Nasdaq,
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
was most active, with 8 million shares changing hands. It was down 1 1/16, or 1%, to 80 1/4.
9:58 a.m.: Stocks Open Mostly Lower
Stocks were mostly lower in the early going while the 30-year Treasury bond was tumbling again after falling precipitously on
Friday.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was up 2 to 10,791. The
S&P 500
was down 4 to 1331. The
Nasdaq Composite Index
was down 17 to 2526. The
Russell 2000
was down fractionally at 433.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was down 11 to 646.
The 30-year Treasury bond was down 15/32 to 93 21/32, yielding 5.70%.
Most Up at Open -- NYSE
Consolidated Stores (CNS) - Get Report, up 1 15/16 to 36 5/16
.
Most Up at Open -- Nasdaq
Qualcomm (QCOM) - Get Report, up 8 3/8 to 208 3/8
.
Most Down at Open -- NYSE
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) - Get Report, down 1 15/16 to 61 5/8
.
Most Down at Open -- Nasdaq
Western Wireless (WWCA) , down 15 11/16 to 25 3/8
.
