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Stocks find higher ground
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December 15, 1998: 11:44 a.m. ET
Dow dives in and out of positive territory, technology issues advance
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The Dow Jones industrial average waded through a choppy morning to find positive ground Tuesday as investors eventually shrugged off early earnings warnings. Meanwhile technology shares rallied as investors indulged in bargain hunting for stocks that had suffered through five consecutive days of declines.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m. ET, the Dow was up 56.90 at 8,752.50. Advances led declining issues 1,447 to 1,270 on trading volume of 301 million shares.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 30.76 to 1,997.68, while the S&P 500 benchmark index climbed 9.90 to 1,151.10.
The Labor Department's report that inflation held steady in November had little effect on the bond market. The Consumer Price Index increased 0.2 percent, in line with economist forecasts.
The Labor Department also reported real earnings inched up 0.1 percent in November.
The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond was down 8/32 of a point in price for a yield of 5.00 percent.
The dollar climbed higher against both the German mark and the Japanese yen.
Earnings woes continue
In individual issues, shares of Dow component Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) fell 1-7/8 to 44-3/8 after the construction-equipment maker warned that its fourth-quarter earnings would fall below 92 cents a share, well short of analyst forecasts of a $1.06-a-share profit.
Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) plunged 7-1/4 to 49-5/8 after the plastics firm said fourth-quarter earnings won't come close to analysts' estimates due to global market troubles. Eastman said it expects to report a profit between 10 cents and 15 cents a share, far short of Wall Street forecasts for earnings of 82 cents a share.
Owens Corning (OWC) lost 13/16 to 36-1/4 after the fiberglass-insulation firm said it had reached a settlement with nearly 90 percent of its backlog of asbestos cases.
On the positive side, General Electric Co. (GE) climbed 3-1/16 to 89-7/8 after the company told analysts it was comfortable with 1999 earnings estimates and that it expected 15- to 20-percent growth in many of its businesses.
In the tech sector, Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) climbed 3-1/8 to 79-3/8 a day after announcing a technology-sharing agreement with database-software giant Oracle Corp. (ORCL). Oracle shares gained 1-1/8 to 38-1/4.
Finally, Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) added 1-1/2 to 81-7/8 after announcing a two-year deal to provide MCI WorldCom Inc. (WCOM) with networking equipment for Web-based services. MCI WorldCom shares slipped 3/8 to 61-13/16. 
-- by staff writer John Frederick Moore
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