|
Techs join stock slump
|
 |
March 31, 1999: 3:39 p.m. ET
Nasdaq finally abandons positive territory as stocks fight to regain balance
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Concerns over a sudden plunge in bond prices led U.S. stocks substantially lower late Wednesday, with even the strongest resistance in the technology leaders failing to give the market support.
Shortly before 3:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 33.58 points at 9,879.68. Declines overtook advances on the New York Stock Exchange by a margin of 1,519 to 1,419 on light volume of 690 million shares.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite struggled on the edge of negative territory, slipping 1.62 points to 2,478.67. The S&P 500 index eased 3.84 to 1,296.91. (Check here for a look at today's list of CNNfn market movers.)
Analysts said investors' confidence had been shaken by dramatic selling in the bond market, where a better-than-expected manufacturing report struck a raw nerve. Although the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond recovered the worst of its losses, it was still trading down 11/32 of a point in price to yield 5.61 percent.
Merrill Lynch analyst Don Kapentanenkus attributed the stock market's downturn more to raw nerves than to the actual implications of the data, noting that the market's breadth remains "terrible," with blue-chips shining while smaller and value stocks deteriorate.
The dollar fell against the yen as Japanese investors retreated to their native currency ahead of Thursday's beginning of the Japanese fiscal new year. The euro also gained ground against the dollar.
Computers hang on
In stocks, the high-tech sector was one of the few shelters resisting the broader market retreat. Dell (DELL) climbed 1-1/4 to 41-1/8 but Compaq (CPQ) only edged up 1/16 to 32-3/8. On the Dow, IBM (IBM) climbed 7/16 to 179, while Hewlett Packard (HWP) slipped 1/4 to 68-3/4.
Microsoft (MSFT) fell 2-1/8 to 90-7/8 as investors reevaluated news that the software giant is negotiating a possible out-of-court settlement with government antitrust authorities to end its long courtroom ordeal.
Other technology leaders turned mixed in late trading, with Cisco (CSCO) adding 1-5/16 to 111-1/4, while Intel (INTC) slipped 5/16 to 121-1/4.
Oil recoils
Shares of oil companies joined the general downturn, giving up their early advance as anticipation of a global oil production cut faded.
The production slowdown, set to go into effect Thursday, is expected to take 2 million barrels of crude oil per day off the oversupplied market, and already has pushed world crude prices to their highest levels since they stumbled to 12-year lows last December.
Texaco (TX) shed 5/16 to 57-7/16, but Royal Dutch Shell (RD) clung to its gains, climbing 11/16 to 52-15/16. The Dow oil producers were likewise mixed, with Exxon (XON) slipping 1/2 to 70-13/16 and Chevron (CHV) edging up 5/16 to 89-5/16.
After riding high in the market's eyes in anticipation of its $25 billion merger with Atlantic Richfield, BP Amoco (BPA) shares fell firmly downhill, sliding 2-1/8 to 101-3/16. Atlantic Richfield (ARC) lost 1-7/16 to 73-3/16.
Meanwhile, Philip Morris (MO) continued to drag the Dow lower. Shares tumbled 3, more than 8 percent, to 34-3/4 as investors fled the implications of Tuesday's $80 million verdict against the tobacco giant. 
-- by staff writer Robert Scott Martin
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
