Stocks Turn Mixed as IBM Climbs Anew
The
Nasdaq Composite Index
was up 1% this afternoon, outperforming the rest of the market's major gauges, while
IBM
(IBM) - Get Report
was surging again.
The Nasdaq Comp was up 25 to 2587.
Meanwhile, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was down 12 to 10,715. IBM, a Dow component, was up 8 1/16 to 202 9/16. It hit a 52-week intraday high of 204 1/4. Yesterday, on the heels of a powerful earnings report after the close Wednesday, IBM closed up 22 5/8, or 13%, to 194 1/2.
The
S&P 500
was down 1 to 1358. The
Russell 2000
was up 1 to 430.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was up 22 to 681.
The 30-year Treasury bond was up 2/32 to 94 31/32, yielding 5.60%.
On the
New York Stock Exchange
, decliners were beating advancers 1,461 to 1,329 on 494 million shares. On the
Nasdaq Stock Market
, winners were beating losers 1,979 to 1,767 on 702 million shares.
On the NYSE, 43 issues had set new 52-week highs while 12 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 62 issues had set new highs while new lows totaled 40.
On the Nasdaq,
3Com
(COMS)
was most active, with 25 million shares changing hands. It was up 3 13/17, or 17%, to 36 3/16.
Sector Focus: Cable
News of
AT&T's
(T) - Get Report
unsolicited bid valued at more than $62 billion, including debt, yesterday for
MediaOne
(UMG)
, which tops
Comcast's
(CMCSA) - Get Report
friendly $54 billion offer, has helped lift the cable sector overall today.
MediaOne shot higher on the news, but AT&T slumped. Ma Bell was down 3 5/8, or 6%, to 53 1/8, and was most active on the Big Board, with 32.3 million shares changing hands. MediaOne was up 7 1/2, or 11%, to 77.
TheStreet.com
wrote about the situation in a story
this morning.
Adelphia Communications
(ADLAC)
, which has been on a buying spree lately, was up 5 5/8, or 9%, to 66 5/8.
The AT&T bid for MediaOne wasn't the only news in the cable industry yesterday.
Cox Communications
(COX)
yesterday said it is buying
Media General's
cable systems serving approximately 260,000 customers in Fairfax County and Fredricksburg, Va., in a deal valued at $1.4 billion. Cox shares were up 2 1/2 to 75.
Time Warner
(TWX)
was up 2 to 73 3/4.
Cablevision
(CVC)
was up 5 1/8, 7.1%, to 77 1/4.
1:04 p.m.: Midday Musings: Market's Resilience Stays in Place With Midday Recoveryt
11:56 a.m.: Stocks Take a Break After Rallying Earlier in the Week
The major market barometers were mostly lower late this morning as the market pauses after surging for three consecutive sessions.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was down 62 to 10,665.
AT&T
(T) - Get Report
was the biggest drag on the Dow, falling 3 3/8, or 6%, to 53 3/8. Yesterday Ma Bell made an unsolicited bid valued at more than $62 billion, including debt, for
MediaOne
(UMG)
, topping
Comcast's
(CMCSA) - Get Report
friendly $54 billion offer, which Comcast made last month.
TheStreet.com
wrote about the situation in a story
this morning.
AT&T was most active on the
New York Stock Exchange
with 23 million shares changing hands.
MediaOne jumped 7 3/8, or 11%, to 76 7/8, while Comcast rose 1 7/16 to 67 7/16.
The
S&P 500
was down 10 to 1349.
The
Russell 2000
was down fractionally at 429.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was up 5 to 664.
On the
New York Stock Exchange
, decliners were beating advancers 1,479 to 1,147 on 315 million shares. On the
Nasdaq Stock Market
, winners were beating losers 1,715 to 1,697 on 430 million shares.
On the NYSE, 33 issues had set new 52-week highs while 11 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 44 issues had set new highs while new lows totaled 31.
The 30-year Treasury bond was up 9/32 to 95 5/32, yielding 5.59%.
On the Nasdaq,
Dell
(DELL) - Get Report
was most active, with 12 million shares changing hands. It was up 5/16 to 42 1/4.
Tech Focus
The
Nasdaq 100
was down 1%, while the
Morgan Stanley High-Tech 35
was also down 1%. The
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index
was down 3%. The
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Computer Box Maker Index
was down fractionally.
Gateway
(GTW)
, which after the close yesterday posted first-quarter earnings of 62 cents a share, 2 cents higher than the 23-analyst view and ahead of the year-ago 48 cents, was down 1 9/16 to 68 3/8.
U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray
analyst Ashok Kumar downgraded the stock today to buy from strong buy. Kumar, in a research note, pointed out that Gateway "has missed Q2 consensus estimates for the last two years. Given that Q2 is back-end loaded, with the last month representing 40% of unit shipments, we think it is prudent to revise our estimates down from $0.61 to a consensus estimate of $0.55."
In the Newsletters
3Com
(COMS)
expects several new manufacturers to clone its PalmPilot palm-sized PC before the end of the year, executives said at the
Demo Mobile 99 Conference
held in San Diego, according to
Computer Reseller News
.
3Com was up 2 1/2, or 11%, to 24 7/8.
10:58 a.m.: Stocks Remain Modestly Lower in Lackluster Trading
In a violently volatile week which began with fear and has shifted to sanguinity overall, the major market averages were taking a break so far today and were mostly lower at midmorning.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was down 54 to 10,673. The biggest drag on the Dow was
AT&T
(T) - Get Report
, which yesterday made an unsolicited bid valued at more than $62 billion, including debt, for
MediaOne
(UMG)
. This topped
Comcast's
(CMCSA) - Get Report
friendly $54 billion offer, which Comcast made last month.
TheStreet.com
wrote about the situation in a story
this morning.
AT&T was down 3 1/8, or 6%, to 53 5/8. Ma Bell was most active on the
New York Stock Exchange
with 18 million shares changing hands.
Meanwhile, MediaOne jumped 7, or 10%, to 76 1/2. Comcast was up 1 1/2 to 67 5/8.
The
S&P 500
was up 7 to 1352. The
Nasdaq Composite Index
was down 10 to 2552. The
Russell 2000
was down fractionally at 429.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was up 6 to 666.
Overall, "the climate's pretty good," for the market, said Peter Coolidge, managing director of trading at
Brean Murray Foster Securities
, citing in part solid earnings this quarter and continued merger-and-acquisition activity.
Coolidge said he's not looking for the market to do too much today.
The feeling is that this quarter has been the best in terms of upside earnings surprises in a while, Coolidge said.
One of this quarter's upside surprises was delivered by
IBM
(IBM) - Get Report
, which posted much better-than-expected results Wednesday after the close and powered the market sharply higher yesterday. Big Blue was padding its gains this morning, up 7/8 to 195 3/8.
On the earnings front today, drug titan
Merck
(MRK) - Get Report
reported first-quarter earnings of 54 cents a share, in line with the
First Call
30-analyst estimate and up from the year-ago 47 cents.
Merck was down 2 1/4 to 75 5/8. The
American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical Index
was down 1%.
The 30-year Treasury bond was up 7/32 to 95 4/32, yielding 5.59%.
On the Big Board, decliners were beating advancers 1,381 to 1,089 on 227 million shares. On the
Nasdaq Stock Market
, winners and losers were tied at 1,5875 on 314 million shares.
On the NYSE, 27 issues had set new 52-week highs while 10 had touched new lows. On the Nasdaq, 34 issues had set new highs while new lows totaled 23.
On the Nasdaq,
Dell
(DELL) - Get Report
was most active, with 9 million shares changing hands. It was up 9/16 to 42 7/16.
9:56 a.m.: Stocks Take a Breather After Three Sessions of Gains
Stocks were softer early on, taking a break after three straight sessions of sizable gains.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was down 47 to 10,680.
The
S&P 500
was down 6 to 1353. The
Nasdaq Composite Index
was down 18 to 2544. The
Russell 2000
was down 1 to 428.
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index was down 6 to 654.
The 30-year Treasury bond was up 6/32 to 95 3/32, yielding 5.59%, in the wake of yesterday's selloff.
Most Up at Open -- NYSE
Vodafone (VOD) - Get Report, up 2 to 188 5/8
.
Most Up at Open -- Nasdaq
priceline.com (PCLN) , up 9 11/16 to 86 1/16
: Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of priceline.com, naming it to its recommended list.
Most Down at Open -- NYSE
America Online (AOL) , down 4 9/16 to 146 3/4
.
Most Down at Open -- Nasdaq
Knight/Trimark Group (NITE) , down 5 to 110
.
