Stocks Mostly Lower as Internet Sector Continues to Take a Beating
Investors continued to dump high-fliers and buy stocks in long-shunned sectors as another volatile session headed into the final hour of trading.
Meanwhile, Internet stocks built on Wednesday's big decline. However the sector has pared its losses.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was up 51 to 10,462. The
S&P 500
was down 9 to 1319.
The
Nasdaq Composite Index
was down 17 to 2490, well off its worst levels of the session. Some parts of the tech sector were showing life this afternoon. The
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index
was up 2%.
The
Russell 2000
was down 2 to 415.
Scott Curtis, senior equity trader at
Brown Brothers Harriman
, noted that drug, financial and tech stocks have been "carrying the ball" for the last seven or eight months and "now they're taking a breather."
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was down 33 to 661, while the
TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index
was down 4 to 131.
Internet stocks are taking a real beating, he said, adding that those who'd shorted the stocks are starting to recoup their losses. Traders are looking for bounces and they're not coming, he said.
As for the rotation out of in-favor stocks to out-of-favor stocks, market participants have expressed skepticism at how long it will last.
Prices for metals and other commodities have been hanging in there, notably copper, which has been doing relatively well, Curtis noted. Lumber and aluminum prices, for example, have been doing better for a while and now it's starting to show up in the stocks.
The
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Forest & Paper Products Index
, which has been on fire lately, was up 4%. The
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Gold and Silver Index
was up 7%. In the S&P 500, the basic materials group was the best-performing group in the index, followed closely behind by the energy sector.
The
Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index
was up 3%.
Also jumping today were oil-service stocks. The
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Oil Service Index
surged 7%. The
American Stock Exchange Oil & Gas Index
soared 4%.
On the
New York Stock Exchange
, advancers were beating decliners 1,673 to 1,305 on 884 million shares. On the
Nasdaq Composite Index
, losers were beating winners 2,135 to 1,871 on 1.004 billion shares.
On the NYSE, 63 issues had set new 52-week highs while 47 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 99 stocks had set new lows while 54 touched new highs.
On the Big Board,
America Online
(AOL)
was most active, with 34 million shares changing hands. It was down 7 7/8, or 5%, to 143.
On the Nasdaq,
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
was most active, with 30 million shares changing hands. It was up 1 1/8 to 87 1/8.
Meanwhile, the 30-year Treasury bond was down 14/32 to 95 26/32, yielding 5.54%.
2:05 p.m.: Nasdaq Pressures Other Indices Into the Red
The market's major barometers were lower, led on the downside by the
Nasdaq Composite Index
in another volatile session.
Meanwhile, cyclicals continued to put on a strong showing as money continued to stream out of other sectors of the market and into the economically sensitive issues. The
Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index
was up 2%.
The Nasdaq Comp was down 49 to 2459.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was down 19 to 10,393. The biggest loser in the Dow was financial services titan
American Express
(AXP) - Get Report
, which was off 9 3/8, or 7%, to 127 1/8.
The
S&P 500
was down 19 to 1309. The basic materials group was the best-performing sector in the index, followed closely behind by the energy arena.
Despite the downdraft in the market's leading gauges, breadth was still positive on the
New York Stock Exchange
, with advancers leading decliners 1,596 to 1,320 on 710 million shares. It was a different story on the
Nasdaq Stock Market
, where losers were beating winners 2,104 to 1,762 on 820 million shares.
The small-cap
Russell 2000
was down 5 to 413.
Internet stocks were getting pummeled.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was down 53 to 641.
TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index
was down 6 to 129.
The 30-year Treasury bond was down 10/32 to 95 31/32, yielding 5.53%.
On the NYSE, 60 issues had set new 52-week highs while 40 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 90 issues had set new lows while new highs totaled 51.
On the Big Board,
America Online
(AOL)
was most active, with 30 million shares changing hands. It was down 10 13/16 to 140 1/8.
On the Nasdaq,
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
was most active, with 24 million shares changing hands. It was down 1 to 85.
Sector Focus: Pharmaceuticals
Drug stocks were getting shellacked, led by sharp losses in
Pfizer
(PFE) - Get Report
. The
American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical Index
was down 5%.
Pfizer was down 15 15/16, or 11%, to 128 11/16.
Drug titan Pfizer reported that first-quarter
Viagra
sales dropped to $193 million from $236 million in the fourth quarter. The company forecast single-digit second-quarter earnings-per-share growth, citing a strong year-ago quarter due to Viagra's launch, but said it's comfortable with analysts' full-year earnings estimates. Pfizer posted first-quarter earnings of 62 cents a share, on target with the 24-analyst
First Call
prediction and up from the year-ago 53 cents.
Elsewhere in the sector, among the notable losers:
Amgen
(AMGN) - Get Report
was down 4 3/16, or 6%, to 67 7/8;
Pharmacia & Upjohn
(PNU)
was off 4 1/16, or 7%, to 58 1/4;
Schering Plough
(SGP)
was down 3 11/16 or 7%, to 6.7 and
SmithKline Beecham
(SBH) - Get Report
was down 4 5/8, or 7%, to 65 11/16.
1:08 p.m.: Midday Musings: 'Superball' Techs Dribble Lower as Shift Toward Value Rolls On
12:06 p.m.: Rise in Cyclicals Keeps Dow Out of the Red
Cyclicals continued to keep the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
out of negative territory, while the tech-chunky
Nasdaq Composite Index
was down 2%, but off its session lows.
The Dow was up 4 to 10,416, bolstered the most lately by
3M
(MMM) - Get Report
, which was up 3 3/16 to 78 7/16.
The Nasdaq Comp was down 41 to 2466, after surrendering 2.9%
yesterday.
Meanwhile, earnings reports continue to deluge Wall Street. Recently,
Gillette
(G) - Get Report
reported first-quarter earnings of 24 cents, in line with the
First Call
16-analyst outlook. Gillette was up 5/8 to 50 15/16.
Drug titan
Pfizer
(PFE) - Get Report
posted first-quarter earnings of 62 cents a share, in line with the First Call 24-analyst estimate. Pfizer was down 7 5/8 to 137.
The
S&P 500
was down 13 to 1315.
The
Russell 2000
was down 2 to 416.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was down 46 to 648.
TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index
was down 6 to 129.
Transportation stocks surged. The
Dow Jones Transportation Average
was up 1%. The biggest boosts to the average were
CNF Transportation
(CNF) - Get Report
and
Burlington Northern Sante Fe
(BNI)
.
Merrill Lynch
upgraded CNF to near-term accumulate from near-term neutral, lifting the stock 2 15/16, or 8%, to 40 3/4.
The 30-year Treasury bond was down 12/32 to 95 28/32, yielding 5.53.
On the NYSE, advancers were beating decliners 1,653 to 1,143 on 478 million shares. On the Nasdaq, losers were beating winners 1,862 to 1,717 on 585 million shares.
On the NYSE, 51 issues had set new 52-week highs while 28 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 55 issues had set new lows while new highs totaled 41.
On the Big Board, most active was
America Online
(AOL)
, with 25 million shares changing hands. It was down 10 13/16, or 7%, to 140 11/16.
On the Nasdaq, most active was
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
, with 18 million shares changing hands. It was up 9/16 to 57 9/16.
Tech Focus
The
Nasdaq 100
was down 1%, while the
Morgan Stanley High-Tech 35
was down 3%. The
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index
was down 1%.
On the earnings front,
Sun Microsystems
(SUNW) - Get Report
was down 3 13/16, or 6%, to 58 3/4, ahead of its third-quarter earnings release slated for after the close. The First Call 20-analyst consensus estimate sees the company earning 35 cents a share.
TheStreet.com
wrote a preview of the company's earnings report
this morning.
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
was down 9/16 to 34 15/16, in the wake of its better-than-expected second-quarter earnings report which was released after the close. Apple posted earnings of 60 cents a share, 3 cents higher than the First Call 18-analyst estimate and above the year-ago 38 cents.
Advanced Micro Devices
(AMD) - Get Report
popped 1 1/8, or 8%, to 15 7/8. Yesterday, troubled AMD reported a first-quarter loss of 81 cents a share, narrower than the First Call 13-analyst estimate of a loss of 92 cents a share.
TheStreet.com
wrote about AMD in a story
last night.
11:06 a.m.: Nasdaq Leads on the Downside
A tech stock surge at the open was met with a boatload of selling as the
Nasdaq Composite Index
gave up its early gains and plunged 2%.
Meanwhile, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was marginally higher and again in record territory.
The Nasdaq Comp was down 40 to 2468.
As was the case yesterday, cyclicals were powering the Dow. The Dow was up 66 to 10,477. The Dow's biggest boosts were coming from
DuPont
(DD) - Get Report
,
Goodyear
(GT) - Get Report
,
International Paper
(IP) - Get Report
and
3M
(MMM) - Get Report
.
The
S&P 500
was down 8 to 1320. The small-cap
Russell 2000
was down 3 to 414.
"I think the market got a little ahead of itself," said Louis Todd, head of equities trading at
J.C. Bradford
, as most of the major indices pulled back.
Looking ahead, expiration on Friday could have an effect on the market, said Todd.
Market participants have shunned -- at least so far -- a dosage of overall positive earnings reports.
General Motors
(GM) - Get Report
, the world's largest automaker, and
Ford
(F) - Get Report
both posted better-than-expected earnings. General Motors was down 1 5/8 to 88 1/8, while Ford rose 15/16 to 63 11/16.
Internet stocks were getting buried again today after plunging
yesterday.
Todd noted that the "interbet" traders, meaning day traders that largely play Internet stocks, got hammered yesterday, tried to get some of it back early in the session, but it looks like they might get their heads handed to them again today.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was down 46 to 648. Among the big losers in the index:
CMGI
(CMGI)
plunged 22 1/17, or 9%, to 223 1/2, while
RealNetworks
(RNWK) - Get Report
was down 20 3/8, or 11%, to 168 1/2.
TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index
was down 7 to 128.
The 30-year Treasury bond was down 6/32 to 96 2/32, yielding 5.52%.
Online brokers -- which have been market highfliers for some time -- were giving up some of their outsized gains, despite better-than-anticipated earnings from
AmeriTrade
(AMTD) - Get Report
and
Charles Schwab
(SCH)
. Both were down sharply, off 5% and 14%, respectively.
Shares of
Friedman Billings Ramsey Group
(FBG)
soared on news it launched
fbr.com
, which it calls "the first public online investment bank." Friedman Billings said that beginning immediately, online investors will have the chance to register to participate in all of the firm's future initial public offerings.
On the news, the Friedman Billings' stock surged 3 3/8, or 34%, to 13 3/16.
On the
New York Stock Exchange
, advancers were beating decliners 1,606 to 1,011 on 315 million shares. On the
Nasdaq Stock Market
, losers were edging winners 1,767 to 1,608 on 409 million shares.
On the NYSE, 41 issues had set new 52-week highs while 23 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 39 issues had set new lows while new highs totaled 31.
On the Big Board,
America Online
(AOL)
was most active, with 19 million shares changing hands. It was down 8 13/16, or 6%, to 142 1/16.
On the Nasdaq,
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
was most active, with 15 million shares changing hands. It was up 9/17 to 57 5/8.
10:03 a.m.: Stocks Little Changed Amid Mostly Positive Earnings Reports
Market participants digested a host of mostly positive earnings reports as the market's major averages were little changed.
The
Nasdaq Composite Index
was up 1 to 2509. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was up 4 to 10,416. The
S&P 500
was down 2 to 1326. The
Russell 2000
was down fractionally at 417.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was down 29 to 665.
TheStreet.com E-Commerce Index
was down 1 to 134.
The 30-year Treasury bond was down 9/32 to 95 31/32, yielding 5.53%.
Most Up at Open -- NYSE
BP Amoco (BPA) , up 3 1/8 to 103 1/4
.
Most Up at Open -- Nasdaq
AmeriTrade (AMTD) - Get Report, up 10 to 158
: The online broker after the close posted second-quarter earnings of 14 cents a share, double the
First Call
six-analyst consensus and up from a penny loss a year ago.
Most Down at Open -- NYSE
Equant (ENT) - Get Report, down 6 1/16 to 88 1/4
.
Most Down at Open -- Nasdaq
Inktomi (INKT) , down 8 to 129
: The company is slated to report earnings today.
TheStreet.com
wrote a preview of the report in a story
this morning.
