Dow has new high in sight
|
|
November 20, 1998: 5:38 p.m. ET
Strong bank stocks, rallies overseas boost blue-chip index for third day
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street powered ahead for a third straight day Friday, as investors shook off signs of market volatility and poured into bargain bank issues.
Climbing back within 200 points of its all-time highs, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 103.50 points, or 1.14 percent, to 9,159.55. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,740 issues advanced and 1,236 issues declined, as 723 million shares traded hands.
For the week, the Dow climbed 239.96 points, or 2.69 percent, extending its gain for the year to 15.82 percent.
The Nasdaq Composite, ended up 8.53 points at 1,928.21, while the S&P 500 rose 10.94 points to 1,163.55.
For the week, the Nasdaq rose 80.22 points, or 4.34 percent, and the S&P climbed 37.83 points, or 3.36 percent. The Nasdaq now holds a gain of 22.79 percent for the year and the S&P is up 19.90 percent in 1998.
Bank and brokerage stocks gained, while technology and Internet-related issues were mixed.
While Wall Street faces warning signals ahead next year, Terence Gabriel, a stock strategist with I.D.E.A., said investors should try to ride the market steamroller until then. (392K WAV) or (392K AIFF).
Markets weathered Friday's simultaneous expiration of stock futures and options, also known as "double witching," which often adds a dose of volatility to late-session trading.
Stocks plodded higher following strong performances in Europe and Asia, as signs again cropped up that Japan is taking seriously its economic woes.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, taking part in a video conference in Germany, offered reassuring words for the market, but concentrated on what he said were bright prospects for the euro, Europe's common currency set for launch next year.
Bonds rose as investors, thinking Federal Reserve officials may not pull the interest-rate trigger for a fourth time this year, moved away from shorter-term Treasurys and into bonds. The 30-year benchmark issue was up 10/32 in price for a yield of 5.21 percent.
The dollar edged lower against the Japanese yen and rose modestly against the German mark.
Banking stocks take charge
Financial stocks, left behind in the rally that bolstered many other sectors in recent weeks, got into the act Friday as investors gobbled up the seemingly-undervalued issues.
Among the gainers were top New York banks and Dow issues J.P. Morgan (JPM), ending up 3-1/4 to 109-5/8, Citigroup (CCI), gaining 5/8 to 45-1/16, and American Express (AXP ), rising 3-3/16 to 104-9/16.
Elsewhere in the sector, Bankers Trust (BT) soared 5-1/4 to 77-1/4 and Chase Manhattan (CMB) gained 7/16 to 61-15/16.
Several of Wall Street's top brokerages also heated up: Bear Stearns (BSC) leapt 3-1/16 to 104-9/16, Lehman Brothers (LEH) rallied 3-1/2 to 45-11/16, Merrill Lynch (MER) rose 4-3/8 to 71-5/8, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter(MWD) gained 4 to 70-9/16.
High-technology players were mixed: Dell Computer (DELL) was up 1-5/16 to 64-3/8, Microsoft (MSFT) gained 1-7/8 to 113-5/8, but Intel (INTC) slipped 13/16 to 112-1/16.
Dow member IBM (IBM) rose 1-9/16 to 160-1/8.
Rollicking in a jungle full of green again was Amazon.com (AMZN), rocketing 27-3/8 to 180-5/8 and racking up a third straight day of gains after the online bookseller unveiled plans to sell gadgetry and toys over the Internet.
But highlighting the ambivalence of investors over Internet issues was Lycos (LCOS), as it shed 1-1/4 to 60-3/4 even though the Internet portal beat analysts' estimates in its fiscal first quarter on a 55 percent jump in traffic.
(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 Jamey Keaten
|
|
|
|
|
|