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Wall St. a mixed picture
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November 11, 1999: 1:41 p.m. ET
Profit taking reverses gains for blue chips; Nasdaq holds positive ground
By Staff Writer Jill Bebar
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. blue chips put in a mixed performance Thursday afternoon as investors took some profits amid concern about higher interest rates. However, the tech-oriented Nasdaq remained in positive territory.
Shortly before 1:30 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 49.23 points to 10,548.51. On the New York Stock Exchange, declines outnumbered advances 1,622 to 1,201 as trading volume reached 548 million shares.
The Nasdaq composite advanced 18.11 points to 3,174.07 and the S&P 500 index inched down 0.40 points to 1,373.06. (Click here for a look at today's CNNfn hot stocks.)
The bond market was closed for the Veterans Day holiday.
The dollar rose against both the yen and the euro.
A little profit taking within uncertainty
With a monetary policy meeting scheduled next Tuesday, analysts said it was a close call whether the Fed will hike short-term interest rates.
"People are being careful at the moment. They don't know what is going to happen," said Harry Laubscher, market analyst at Tucker Anthony.
Peter Canelo, U.S. investment strategist at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, expects the market to take a "pause" heading into the meeting.
But technology strength continues
As the technology sector continues to be the dominant force in the market, analysts expect the Nasdaq to push further into uncharted territory. The index posted its eighth record close in nine sessions Wednesday.
"Technology is the driver here. The strength will continue, and this rally will take us to new highs," Canelo said.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) continued to firm, adding 2-9/16 to 82-1/16 after reporting strong earnings late Tuesday. The largest maker of computer networking equipment announced an agreement Thursday to buy V-Bits, a leading provider of digital video services for cable television service providers.
Market participants eyed Dell Computer (DELL). The No. 1 personal computer maker is expected to release its third-quarter earnings after the market close. Earnings tracker First Call Corp. expects the firm to post a profit of 18 cents a share, up from 14 cents in the year-earlier period.
Dell recently warned its earnings would be hurt due to rising prices of memory chips. The stock rose 1-7/16 to 42-7/8.
Microsoft (MSFT) advanced 1-5/8 to 88-3/4, rebounding from its recent decline after a U.S. judge late Friday issued tough findings of fact against the company. The world's largest software company Thursday signed a five-year agreement to create a "store within a store" in up to 7,000 RadioShack U.S. retail outlets.
RadioShack, the retail arm of Tandy Corp. (TAN), will provide demonstrations of and offer subscriptions for Microsoft 's MSN Internet service. As part of the deal, Microsoft will make a $100 million equity investment in the newly launched RadioShack.com to help build its e-commerce offerings. Tandy rose 4-1/4 to 69-7/16.
Microsoft's online travel unit, Expedia (EXPE) surged further, trading up 3-1/8 to 56-9/16 following its initial public offering Wednesday.
In corporate news, Bank One (ONE), the jumbo regional bank and the nation's largest issuer of credit cards, slid 9/16 to 34-1/16 after it warned late Wednesday its 1999 operating earnings will fall as much as 14 cents per share below analysts' expectations due to softness at its First USA credit card subsidiary.
On the heels of the warning, Merrill Lynch cut the stock to "long-term accumulate" from "buy."
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