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Triple record on Wall St.
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April 5, 1999: 5:14 p.m. ET
Investors elated by jobs report, optimistic about corporate profits
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A powerful, all-embracing rally swept through Wall Street Monday, pushing the market's three most prominent gauges -- the Dow industrials, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 -- to record highs.
Encouraged by a jobs report released Friday and feeling optimistic about the first-quarter corporate earnings reporting season, investors rushed into the market, buying stocks of technology, financial, transportation and oil companies.
The Dow Jones industrial average soared 174.82 points, or 1.8 percent, to 10,007.33, an all-time high and the index's second close above the 10,000 mark.
On the New York Stock Exchange, trading volume topped 701 million shares, while breadth was positive, though narrow, with advances leading declines 1,692 to 1,307.
Narrow breadth has plagued the market for months, as investors consistently show a taste for a select number of blue chip stocks, known for their steady record of good performance -- a trend that is likely to continue, according to Charles White, president and portfolio manager at Avatar Associates. (311K WAV) or (311K AIFF)
Nasdaq also sets a record
The Nasdaq Composite blazed its way to its 12th record close this year, climbing 66.69 points, or 2.7 percent, to 2,560.06. The S&P 500 index rose 27.40 points, or 2.1 percent, to an all-time high of 1,321.12.
U.S. stock markets were closed Friday ahead of the Easter holiday, preventing investors from registering an immediate reaction to the March non-farm payrolls report. Although the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent last month, its lowest since February 1970, the economy created only 46,000 jobs in the month, the smallest number since January 1996.
Combined with a modest increase in hourly wages, the data helped propel bond prices sharply higher Friday, driving stocks higher in turn three days later. On Monday, however, bonds regrouped after their Friday rally, with profit-taking leaving the bellwether 30-year Treasury bond up a mere 2/32 of a point in price to yield 5.59 percent.
The dollar advanced against the yen after the tankan survey of Japan's economy, issued by the country's central bank, showed a smaller-than-expected improvement in corporate sentiment. The dollar also gained ground against the euro, which remained under pressure from the continuing NATO war effort against Yugoslavia.
Catching up with the good news
Trading in the stock market was dominated by the positive reaction to the March jobs report, as well as optimistic expectations about the first-quarter earnings reporting season, which will gather steam in the weeks ahead.
Buying was broad-based, but technology, oil and financial stocks once again were ahead of the rest of the market. Oil stocks climbed as well, as world crude prices rose to their highest level in more than a year. Ignoring higher oil prices, transportation issues followed suit, with the Dow transports index surging 44.24 points, or 1.3 percent, to 3,353.40.
Among the high-tech leaders, Microsoft (MSFT) advanced 2-1/4 to 94-15/16, Intel (INTC) rose 6-5/8 to 127-1/2, and Cisco Systems (CSCO) gained 4-1/2 to 114-7/16.
Dell Computer (DELL) climbed 2-7/8 to 44-1/16 ahead of its eagerly anticipated analyst conference Wednesday and Thursday. Last month's warning of slow sales at Dell rival Compaq (CPQ) spurred a number of influential market watchers to temper their formerly exuberant expectations for the computer industry, fueling broader concerns about the stock market's fundamentals.
However, investors put those concerns aside Monday, sending shares of Dow computer maker IBM (IBM) up 6-5/8 to 183-5/8, while fellow microchip blue-chip Hewlett Packard (HWP) jumped 3-9/16 to 71-7/16. Compaq finished unchanged at 31-9/16.
Brokers break ahead
In the financial sector, brokerage stocks were a standout, climbing after analyst Bill Burnham of CS First Boston said he expects Internet brokers like Ameritrade (AMTD)and E*Trade (EGRP) to report higher-than-expected corporate profits this quarter.
As a result, E*Trade shares soared 11-3/4 to 72-5/8, while Ameritrade surged 29-1/16, or more than 46 percent, to 91-5/8. Leading discount broker Charles Schwab (SCH) jumped 9-1/8 to 103-3/8, while Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MWD) climbed 2-15/16 to 102-7/8 and Merrill Lynch (MER) added 3-3/16 to 90-15/16.
Deals and omens
The day's newsmakers included SkyTel Communications (SKYT), whose shares rallied 3-29/32 to 19-1/32, a gain of nearly 26 percent, after Business Week magazine reported MCI WorldCom (WCOM) is considering a takeover of the wireless communications firm.
Also benefiting from merger news, shares of Rental Service (RSV) gained 5, almost 29 percent, to 22-1/4 after rival equipment rental firm United Rentals (URI) launched a $22.75 a share unsolicited takeover bid for the company.
Oil stocks also climbed as world crude prices surged to 13-month highs. As a result, shares of Dow driller Exxon (XON) gained 2-1/16 to 72-3/16 and fellow blue-chip Chevron (CHV) leapt 3-13/16 to 90-5/8.
On the downside, shares of Aspect Development (ASDV), a maker of inventory software, lost more than 64 percent of their value, tumbling 14-15/32 to 7-15/16 after the company issued a dramatic profit warning.
(Click here for a look at today's list of CNNfn market movers.)
(Click here for a look at today's CNNfn technology stocks report) 
-- by staff writer Malina Poshtova Zang with Robert Scott Martin
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