Stocks End Volatile Trading Session in the Black

Despite friendly jobs data, the bond market ended in the red.

Author:
Justin Lahart
Publish date:
May 7, 1999 4:35 PM EDT

Stocks were supposed to follow bonds. Bonds were supposed to take their cues from the April

employment report

. But that's not what happened.

Despite by-all-counts benign news on the jobs front, Treasuries ultimately moved into negative, with the long bond dropping 9/32 to 92 2/32, pushing the yield up to 5.813%. That's supposed to be bad news for stocks, but apparently nobody told the stock market that.

The

Dow Jones Industrial Average

added 84.77 to close at 11,031.59.

The

S&P 500

closed at 1345.00, up 12.95.

The

Nasdaq Composite

finished up 31.33 to 2503.61.

The

Russell 2000

tacked on 2.73 to close at 436.11.

Scroll to Continue

TheStreet Recommends

INVESTING

DIS TWTR

15 hours ago

INVESTING

MCD QSR

9 hours ago

PERSONAL FINANCE

12 hours ago

TheStreet.com Internet Sector

index climbed to 2.35 to 614.15.

On the

New York Stock Exchange

, advancers beat decliners 1,660 to 1,305 on 816 million shares. On the

Nasdaq Stock Market

, winners beat losers 2,106 to 1,848 on 862 million shares.

On the NYSE, 87 issues set new 52-week highs while 25 touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 27 issues set new lows while new highs totaled 64.

On the Big Board,

America Online

(AOL)

was most active, with 32 million shares changing hands. It was down 1 7/16 to 118 5/16.

On the Nasdaq,

Microsoft

was most active with 37 million shares changing hands. It was up 1 1/16 to 79 1/16.

Market data above are preliminary. Updated numbers and analysis will follow in the Market Round up.

2:56 p.m.: Stocks Extend Gains Heading Into the Last Hour of Trading

The major indices are running a steeplechase today, with the

Dow Jones Industrial Average

now pulling ahead on the outside rail. And down the stretch they come!

The stock market has stumbled fitfully after the release of a seemingly benign

employment report that the bond market

decided wasn't good enough for a real rally. Lately the 30-year Treasury bond was down 9/32 to trade at 92 2/32, as the yield rose to 5.81%.

IBM

(IBM) - Get International Business Machines Corporation Report

was leading the way for the industrials, helping the average bull through the 11,000 barrier during the last hour. The

Dow Jones Industrial Average

was up 62 to 11,008 of late, while IBM rose 5 3/4, or 3% to 215.

Hewlett-Packard

(HWP)

was also strong, rising 2 7/16 to 79 3/4.

The

S&P 500

index was up 11 to 1343. The

Justice Department

said it approved

Bell Atlantic's

(BEL)

$52.8 billion purchase of

GTE

(GTE) - Get Gran Tierra Energy Inc. Report

, but the merger needs to be reviewed by the

Federal Communications Commission

and state regulators. Shares of Bell Atlantic rose 1 13/16, or 3%, to 57 11/16. GTE was up 2 3/8, or 4%, to 66 5/8.

The Nasdaq was lately up 31 to 2504.

Media Metrix

(MMXI)

, which priced 3 million shares at $17 prior to this morning's open, was lately up 33 15/16, or 200% to 50 15/16.

Adforce

(ADFC)

, another Net IPO, rose 15 13/16 to 30 7/8 in its first day of trading. TheStreet.com Internet index was marginally higher, lately up 2 to 614.

Most active on the

New York Stock Exchange

was

America Online

(AOL)

, up 1/4 to 119 1/2 on 26 million shares. The Nasdaq's most active was

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Microsoft Corporation Report

, up 1 1/2 to 79 7/16 on 19 million shares.

On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers were leading decliners by a count of 1,531 to 1,379 on 623 million shares. Winners were in the lead on the Nasdaq also, as advancers trailed decliners by 1,940 to 1,885, on 668 million shares.

David A. Gaffen

1:58 p.m.: Stocks Struggle to Remain Positive in Choppy Trading

Mixed performance remained the only certainty in marketland this afternoon, with tech stocks lately showing some signs of strength while the

Dow Jones Industrial Average

struggled around break-even.

The Dow was up 11 to 10,959, down from its session high of 11,003.24 but up from its low of 10,933.65. The

Nasdaq Composite Index

was up 22 to 2494, well off its low of 2462.27.

IBM

(IBM) - Get International Business Machines Corporation Report

was leading the Dow, up 4 15/16 to 214 3/16 after

SoundView Technology Group

forecasted a strong second quarter for Big Blue and said it might raise earnings estimates.

The

S&P 500

was up 4 to 1336, the

Russell 2000

was up 1 to 435 and

TheStreet.com Internet Sector

index was up 1 to 613.

The bond market continued to lurch drunkenly (not to cast aspersions on you bond traders), with the benchmark 30-year Treasury off 9/32 to 92 3/32. Its yield was up to 5.81%, continuing to establish a new top end to the yield range. The lighter-than-expected April

employment report spurred early strength in fixed-income, but continued spillover from

Fed

Chairman

Alan Greenspan's

comments yesterday has roiled the market.

New York Stock Exchange

decliners were just barely nudging past advancers, 1,441 to 1,410, on 537 million shares. On the

Nasdaq Stock Market

, 1,872 decliners were leading 1,861 advancers on 578 million shares. New 52-week highs were outpacing new lows 63 to 19 on the Big Board and 51 to 23 on the Nasdaq.

Most active on the NYSE was

America Online

(AOL)

, down 5/8 to 119 1/8 on 24 million shares.

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Microsoft Corporation Report

was the Nasdaq's most active issue, up 1 1/4 to 79 5/16 on 16 million shares.

John J. Edwards III

1:12 p.m.: Midday Musings: Jobs-Report Excitement Yields to Uncertainty

12:15 p.m.: Stocks Mostly Higher After Jobs Data

Trends are lasting about two minutes each today, but, approaching midday, the market looked as if it was starting to take the

Labor Department's

nonthreatening

employment report to heart.

After surging at the open and then shyly backing all the way into shallow negative territory, the

Nasdaq Composite Index

lately was up 13 to 2486.

Intel

(INTC) - Get Intel Corporation Report

was leading the index's bellwethers, up 1 3/8 to 61 1/16.

Small-cap issues were near break-even, with the

Russell 2000

and

S&P SmallCap 600

both fractionally lower. Internet stocks were looking flat, with

TheStreet.com Internet Sector

index up fractionally at 612.

The

Dow Jones Industrial Average

and the

S&P 500

were up 25 to 10,972 and 6 to 1338, respectively.

The bond market was climbing back from a strange, quick early selloff this morning. The benchmark 30-year Treasury was up 6 to 92 18/32, its yield dropping to 5.78%.

Market internals weren't telling any tales.

New York Stock Exchange

decliners were leading advancers 1,416 to 1,308 on 388 million shares. On the

Nasdaq Stock Market

, 1,708 advancers were trailing 1,769 decliners on 404 million shares.

Most active on the NYSE was

America Online

(AOL)

, up 1 to 120 3/4 on 19 million shares.

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Microsoft Corporation Report

was the Nasdaq's most active issue, with 11 million shares changing hands. It was up 13/16 to 78 3/4.

Tech Focus

The

Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index

was leading the major tech indices, up fractionally. The

Morgan Stanley High-Tech

was also up fractionally.

Computer hardware maker

Qlogic

(QLGC)

was burning up the Nasdaq, up 16 5/8 to 92 1/2 after the company last night posted first-quarter earnings of 45 cents a share, a nickel above the 6-analyst

First Call

consensus and well up from the previous year's 23 cents.

Network connectivity firm

Emulex

(EMLX)

was also on fire, up 10 5/8 to 59 1/16. An Emulex spokesman attributed the action to the company's roadshow for its upcoming 2.1 million-share secondary offering.

Thomas Lepri

10:55 a.m.: Stocks Modestly Higher in Volatile Trading

If your broker tells you he understands what's going on in the market today, you might consider quietly moving your account someplace else.

"I'm so baffled about the whole thing," said Ned Collins, executive vice president of U.S. stocks at

Daiwa Securities America

There are simply too many cross-currents out there, and the action is far to choppy, for anyone to really know. The trading is most bizarre in the Treasury market, which has gone all over the place in reaction to an April

jobs report

that should have been unambiguously bond friendly. But the long bond's been all over the place. Up as much as 29/32, down as much as 14/32, it was lately up 9/32 to 92 22/32, dropping the yield to 5.77%.

And the stock market has been following the Treasuries around all morning. Which is to say that it's up. The stocks that performed the worst yesterday -- tech and other growth issues -- are faring the best, while things like the cyclicals, which yesterday posted gains, are acting like also-rans.

The

Dow Jones Industrial Average

was up 13 to 10,960 and the S&P 500 was up 5 to 1337. The tech-buoyed

Nasdaq Composite Index

was up 10 to 2482.

TheStreet.com Internet Sector

index was up 1 to 613. The

Russell 2000

was up 1 to 434.

And so the market continues to defy those who expect a correction. "A lot of people are trying to wish the market down," said Collins. "But somehow it doesn't seem to want to comply with any wishes"

Justin Lahart