Stocks Continue to Climb
The major market averages were solidly higher at midmorning. However, the big tech stock surge at the open has cooled somewhat.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was up 55 to 10,018.
AT&T
(T) - Get Report
and
Alcoa
(AA) - Get Report
were leading the Dow. Alcoa was up 1, or 2%, to 42 1/16, after it beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter earnings. The company reported first-quarter earnings of 60 cents a share, beating the 16-analyst
First Call
consensus estimate of 54 cents, but down from the year-ago 62 cents. AT&T was up 3 1/2, or 4%, to 83 5/8
The
S&P 500
was up 9 to 1327. The
Nasdaq Composite Index
was up 13 to 2576. The Nasdaq Comp was in record territory, but off its highs. The Comp had surged as much as 33 points earlier.
The small-cap
Russell 2000
lagged the other major market barometers badly. It was up 1 to 402.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was up 7 to 727.
Yahoo!
(YHOO)
was up 4 11/16 to 219 1/2. The cyberspace giant is slated to report earnings today.
TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index
was up 2 to 125.
Overall, John Roque, senior analyst at
Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder
is cautious on the market.
Roque, in a note this morning, wrote he'd feel a lot better about stocks if bond yields fell below 5.42%. Conversely, a move in yields up above 5.69% would be a big negative for stocks.
The 30-year Treasury bond was up 3/32 to 96 4/32, yielding 5.52%.
On the
New York Stock Exchange
, advancers were beating decliners 1,318 to 1,166 on 204 million shares. On the Nasdaq, winners were leading losers 1,555 to 1,507 on 325 million shares.
On the NYSE, 48 issues had set new 52-week highs while 41 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 84 issues had set new highs while new lows totaled 58.
On the Big Board,
Lucent
(LU)
was most active, with 9 million shares changing hands. It was up 1/2 to 65 1/8.
On the Nasdaq,
Network Associates
(NETA)
was most active, with 19 million shares changing hands. It was down 5, or 23%, to 17. Yesterday the company warned first-quarter earnings would fall below Wall Street estimates. The company also yesterday reported fourth-quarter earnings of 50 cents a share, 4 cents ahead of the 20-analyst First Call view and above the year-ago 22 cents. Today a host of analysts downgraded the stock.
9:59 a.m.: Nasdaq Adds to Tuesday's Record Close
Technology stocks were taking off again in the early going, with the
Nasdaq Composite Index
pacing the market's major averages on the upside.
The Nasdaq Comp, which closed at a record high yesterday, was up 24 to 2587. Meanwhile, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was up 47 to 10,011. The
S&P 500
was up 7 to 1325. The
Russell 2000
was up 1 to 403.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was up 13 to 733.
TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index
was up 2 to 126.
The 30-year bond was down 2/32 to 95 31/32, yielding 5.53%.
Revlon
(REV) - Get Report
said it is considering the sale of one of more of its businesses. Revlon was up 3 1/4, or 16%, to 23 1/4.
Most Up at Open -- NYSE
Sony (SNE) - Get Report, up 3 5/16 to 99 1/2
.
Most Up at Open -- Nasdaq
InfoSpace (INSP) - Get Report, up 19 1/2 to 109 1/8
: The company set a 2-for-1 stock split.
Most Down at Open -- NYSE
Glaxo Wellcome (GLX) , down 13/16 to 69 1/2
: The
Food and Drug Administration
told Glaxo it plans to extend a review of the company's drug
Relenza
beyond April 27, the drug titan said.
Most Down at Open -- Nasdaq
Engineering Animation (EAII) , down 17 11/16 to 22 1/4
: The company expects first-quarter revenues to fall 15% below analysts' expectations and first-quarter earnings to come in below Wall Street expectations. The six-analyst
First Call
consensus estimates calls for earnings of 26 cents a share.
