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Nasdaq sets a new high
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December 9, 1998: 5:10 p.m. ET
Tech stocks continue to roar, while blue-chip issues take another beating
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Helped by a robust technology sector, the Nasdaq Composite made its way to a new record high Wednesday, while the Dow industrials found it hard to attract buyers and finished just below unchanged.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed 18.79 points lower at 9,009.19. On the New York Stock Exchange, declines outnumbered advances 1,541 to 1,444 on trading volume of 698 million shares.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 15.67 to 2,050.42, scoring a new all-time high. The S&P 500 index edged 2.11 higher to 1,183.49.
William Hummer, market strategist at Wayne Hummer, said Wall Street faces more volatility and vulnerability over the near term. (362K WAV) or (362K AIFF)
The bond market closed higher, once again drawing strength from the uncertainty in stocks. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond rose 6/32 of a point in price for a yield of 4.98 percent.
The dollar moved slightly higher against the German mark and tumbled against the Japanese yen following a statement by Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa that the United States might be supportive of a trading range for the greenback between 110 yen and 120 yen.
Focus on pharmaceuticals
In the stock market, news of the $35 billion merger of two European drug makers attracted attention to pharmaceutical stocks, but failed to inspire much of a rally.
American depositary receipts of Britain's Zeneca (ZEN) inched up 3/16 to 45-3/16, while ADRs of Sweden's Astra (A), the other partner in the deal, fell 1-1/16 to 20-13/16.
Investors' lack of chemistry with the sector wasn't helped at all by news that another mega-deal, the planned merger between Swiss giants Ciba Specialty Chemicals and Clariant, has been called off.
On the Dow, shares of Merck (MRK), a joint-venture partner of Astra, tumbled 6-13/16 to 152. The sharp decline, which came in the last hour of trading, was largely the result of the company issuing a lower-profit forecast for 1999 than Wall Street had expected.
Elsewhere in the drug sector, Pfizer (PFE) inched down 5/16 to 115-7/8 and Warner-Lambert (WLA) rose 1-1/8 to 77-5/16.
Weighing further on the blue-chip index, shares of J.P. Morgan (JPM) sank 2-3/8 to 104-3/16 after the Wall Street heavyweight issued a fourth-quarter profit warning.
Among the day's other newsmakers, shares of Tellabs (TLAB) jumped 4-11/16 to 68-15/16 on news the telecommunications-equipment maker signed a deal to provide a voice/data switch to long-distance phone provider Sprint (FON). Sprint's stock rose 1 to 81-11/16.
Severe weakness among airline stocks dragged the Dow transports index lower as well. AMR (AMR), the parent of American Airlines, fell 1-3/4 to 64-1/2, Delta Air Lines (DAL) shed 2-1/2 to 52 and UAL (UAL), the parent of United Airlines, lost 2-1/16 to 61. The Dow transports fell 41.65, or 1.34 percent, to 3,063.80.
Finally, despite the uncertain tone in the broader market, investors found it hard to resist the charms of the latest Internet newcomer. Xoom (XMCM) blasted up 20-7/16 or almost 146 percent, to 34-7/16. Shares of the web-page service provider, which shelved its IPO amid a market downturn this summer, priced late Tuesday night at $14 a share. The offering was led by Bear Stearns.
(Click here for a look at today's CNNfn market movers)
(Click here for a look at today's CNNfn tech stock report) 
-- by staff writer Malina Poshtova Zang
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