Stocks Continue to Rally at Midmorning
The major market averages continued higher at midmorning as the market got its chance to respond to Friday's
employment report
after the long holiday weekend.
Bonds surged
Friday thanks to news that
nonfarm payrolls
grew only 46,000 in March, much lower than expected, soothing fears the economy may be overheating. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2%.
The 30-year Treasury bond rose again today. It was up 2/32 to 95 1/32, yielding 5.60%.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was up 79 to 9912. The
S&P 500
was down 11 to 1304. The
Nasdaq Composite Index
was up 29 to 2523. The Nasdaq Comp has risen as high as 2529.82 today and remains on pace for a new all-time closing high. The small-cap
Russell 2000
up 2 to 401.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was up 8 to 665.
TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index
was down 3 to 120.
Stephen Shobin, chief technical analyst at
Lehman Brothers
, has been and continues to be cautious on the market.
He sees the market trading in a range for many months going forward. For the S&P 500, the top end of the trading range he sees is 1300 to 1320, with the bottom end of the range at 1135 to 1150.
Shobin cited several factors that would make him more constructive on the market. First, he said he'd need to see consecutive days of "really dynamic momentum," where advancers beat decliners by a 2-to-1 margin and up volume beats down volume by a 4-to-1 ratio. The second factor he cited was a sharp rally in the bond market, and third, having a convergence of the major indexes with their 200-day moving average lines.
He said two or three of those factors occurring would make him more constructive.
On the
New York Stock Exchange
, advancers were beating decliners 1,518 to 1,035 on 174 million shares. On the Nasdaq, winners were leading losers 1,755 to 1,463 on 272 million shares.
On the NYSE, 34 issues had set new 52-week highs while 26 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 86 issues had set new highs while new lows totaled 64.
On the Big Board,
America Online
(AOL)
was most active, with 7.3 million shares changing hands. It was up 3 15/16 to 153 15/16.
On the Nasdaq,
Dell
(DELL) - Get Report
was most active, with 11.2 million shares changing hands. It was up 1 13/16 to 43.
9:51 a.m.: Stocks Hop at the Open
Stocks were higher in the early going in the wake of Friday's
employment report
as the 30-year Treasury bond rallied.
The
Labor Department
said nonfarm payrolls grew only 46,000 in March, much lower than economists predicted, while the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.4% in February.
The 30-year bond was up 7/32 to 95 6/32, yielding 5.58%. The long bond also rallied in
Friday's abbreviated session. The stock market was closed Friday.
Leading the way on the upside was the
Nasdaq Composite Index
, which was up 31 to 2524. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was up 70 to 9903. The
S&P 500
was up 11 to 1305. The
Russell 2000
was up 3 to 402.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was up 9 to 666.
TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index
was up 3 to 119.
Most Up at Open -- NYSE
Charles Schwab (SCH) , up 2 3/4 to 97
.
Most Up at Open -- Nasdaq
DoubleClick (DCLK) , up 11 7/16 to 101
.
Most Down at Open -- NYSE
Sony (SNE) - Get Report, down 1 7/8 to 94
.
Most Down at Open -- Nasdaq
Aspect Development (ASDV) , down 13 1/32 to 8 7/8
: The company issued an earnings warning.
