Wall St. feasts on jobs data
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March 5, 1999: 10:22 a.m. ET
Stocks soar after numbers show strong economy and absent inflation
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. stocks surged in early trading Friday after the much- awaited February employment report provided Wall Street with the perfect bull-market combination -- strong economy and dormant inflation.
Shortly before 10 a.m. ET the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 179.30 points, or 1.9 percent, to 9,646.70, adding to Thursday's more than 2 percent gain. Advances trounced declines 1,977 to 446 as trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange reached 156 million shares.
The Nasdaq Composite rallied 39.83 points, or 1.7 percent, to 2,332.72 and the S&P 500 index gained 24.57 points, or 1.9 percent, to 1,271.21.
Bonds soared on the jobs news as investors found relief for their interest rate fears in news wages grew a modest 0.1 percent in February, even as the economy churned out 275,000 non-farm jobs in the month. The bellwether 30-year Treasury bond surged 2-6/32 points in price, driving the yield down to 5.54 percent.
The dollar, however, eased from its Thursday levels against the yen and the euro, slightly hurt by the jobs data, which quashed any hopes currency investors might have had that interest rates would rise.
A broad-based rally
Bulls on Wall Street found encouragement in the jobs data and started loading up on a broad array of stocks the moment the market opened.
Technology, transportation, financial, consumer, drug, oil and utilities stocks all soared as investors saw only good news ahead -- stable interest rates, no inflation and an economy whose growth rate is the envy of the world.
Among the leading sectors, tech stocks pushed higher, once again gaining favor despite recent fears of earnings growth in the sector.
Helping prod the bulls, news that chip giant Intel (INTC) has agreed to buy Level One Communications (LEVL), a maker of high-speed chips with built-in communications features, in a $2.2 billion stock swap, sent shares of Level One soaring 19-3/8 to 46-1/2, a gain of more than 71 percent. Intel's stock climbed 3 to 116-3/8.
Other major technology names also shot up, with Dow member IBM (IBM) rising 4 to 175 and its new partner Dell Computer (DELL) jumping 1-13/16 to 83-11/16.
Microsoft (MSFT), which Thursday unveiled its latest aggressive plans to expand in the world of e-commerce, rose 2 to 154-1/4.
Hewlett Packard (HWP) climbed 3/16 to 67-5/8., Cisco Systems (CSCO) advanced 2-3/8 to 100-5/8, Gateway (GTW) gained 7/8 to 68-3/16 and Compaq (CPQ) traded 5/16 higher at 33-5/8.
Banks bank on jobs data
Meanwhile financial stocks, always sensitive to interest rate movements, added on to a strong rally Thursday as investors breathed a sigh of relief that the cost of money is about to remain the same.
Shares of American Express (AXP) the Dow component that Thursday soared on the back of a "buy" rating from Salomon Smith Barney, advanced 3-7/16 to 116-7/16.
The Dow's two other financial components also surged, with Citigroup (C) rising 2-7/16 to 62-3/4 and J.P. Morgan (JPM) gaining 1-7/8 to 114-13/16.
Elsewhere in the market, oil stocks firmed up, adding on to solid gains from Thursday. Chevron (CHV) climbed 5/8 to 79-15/16 and fellow Dow 30 member Exxon (XON) climbed 1-1/4 to 69-1/16.
In the day's corporate news, shares of Wal-Mart (WMT) rallied 4 to 93-3/8 after late Thursday the retailer announced a 2-for-1 stock split, a 29-percent hike in its quarterly dividend and an expansion of its stock repurchase program.
News that Century Communications (CTYA) is merging with Adelphia Communications (ADLAC) sent Century's stock soaring 3 to 38-3/8. Adelphia's shares sank 5 to 52-1/8.
Also taking exception to the overall market rally, shares of electronics retailer CompUSA (CPU) shed 1-11/16, or nearly 21 percent, to 6-7/16 after late Thursday the company said it would post surprise losses in its fiscal third and fourth quarters.
And IDX Systems (IDXC), a provider of health-care information solutions, tumbled 11-1/2, or more than 44 percent, to 14-1/2 after it too warned earnings for the first quarter would fall below market expectations.
-- by staff writer Malina Poshtova Zang
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