Lack of motivation for Dow
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November 19, 1998: 11:48 a.m. ET
Stocks drift sideways as investors find it hard to bet on the market big time
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. stock markets turned mixed at midday Thursday, with blue chips sinking slightly while broader markets maintained modest gains amid signs of reluctance by investors to make big bets either way.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 6.17 points at 9,034.94. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,392 stocks advanced and 1,286 declined on trading volume of 240 million shares.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 13.63 to 1,911.07, and the S&P 500 index rose 1.38 to 1,145.86. The Dow transports index, the market's weakest performer, shed 39/45, or 1.3 percent, to 2,946.63 amid a slump in major airline issues. (Click here for a look at today's CNNfn market movers)
Despite a slump in the Tokyo stock market, investors around the world felt more confident after Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party formed an alliance with the Liberal Party, triggering speculation that the country's efforts to pull itself out of a recession will accelerate and become more effective.
Coming in the midst of a visit by U.S. President Bill Clinton and during a week that featured a U.S. interest-rate cut, the Tokyo news was seen as a step in the right direction toward restoring economic health around the world.
The bond market edged mostly higher, helped by a higher-than-expected reading on the weekly jobless claims report and stronger-than-anticipated October housing-starts data. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond rose 9/32 of a point in price for a yield of 5.24 percent.
The dollar fell against both the Japanese yen and the German mark.
Dogs and stars among the techs
In the stock market, technology and Internet issues once again attracted most of the attention, putting in a mixed performance.
Shares of online audio and video software maker RealNetworks (RNWK) tumbled 3-3/8 to 39-1/2 after software titan Microsoft (MSFT) late Wednesday announced it would start selling its minority stake in the company immediately. Shares of Microsoft inched up 1/2 to 110-1/4.
Elsewhere in the web world, Netscape (NSCP), the browser maker-cum-web portal, extended its gains from Wednesday that stemmed from an announcement of a planned partnership with America Online (AOL). Netscape gained 2-1/4 to 41-1/2, and AOL rose 4-7/8 to 88-5/8.
But in related news, shares of Internet search engine Infoseek (SEEK) tumbled 2-1/4 to 34-3/4 after Netscape said it was considering dumping its contract with the company.
Shares of satellite company PanAmSat (SPOT) tumbled 2-5/8 to 39-1/16 after the firm said battery problems on its satellites may cause clients to cancel their contracts.
-- by staff writer Malina Poshtova Zang
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