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Markets & Stocks
Microsoft lifts Wall Street
March 23, 2000: 5:22 p.m. ET

Software maker surges and all major indexes gain; S&P hits record
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The Dow Jones industrial average soared above 11,000 for the first time in seven weeks Thursday as investors poured money into Dow components Microsoft and General Electric.
    The surge in America's first- and third-most valuable companies pushed the Standard & Poor's 500 index of large-company stocks to its third record close in three days.
    Rarely one to miss a rally, the Nasdaq composite index rose for the third straight session.
    The gains in Wall Street's three major market gauges underscore the ability of Microsoft, the world's largest company in terms of stock value, to move markets.
    "It's all driven by Microsoft at this point," said Richard Cripps, chief market strategist at Legg Mason.
    The software giant gained as investors bet Microsoft is near an antitrust settlement with the U.S. government. General Electric surged on a stock upgrade from Lehman Brothers.
    But other sectors also drew buyers, including brokerages and telecommunications equipment makers, as investors bet a strong first-quarter earnings season lies ahead.
    And the Dow also got plenty of help from beaten up "old economy" shares such as J.P. Morgan, American Express and General Motors.
    "With the Fed raising rates, the more speculative tech stocks start to fade and the good-old favorites come back in style." Dennis McKechnie, portfolio manager at Pimco, told CNN's Street Sweep. "I think investors are going after safer but still strong companies." graphic
    Twenty-three of the Dow's 30 stocks rose, pushing the blue-chip index up 253.16 points, or 2.3 percent, to 11,119.86. That's its first close above 11,000 since Feb. 3.
    The S&P 500 leapt 26.71, or 1.8 percent, to 1,527.35, a record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 75.86, or 1.6 percent, to 4,940.61.
    An almost daily debate has raged on Wall Street over whether technology stocks are too expensive and value stocks too cheap, pushing the Dow and Nasdaq on divergent paths. Nine of Nasdaq's 10 biggest point gains came this year while four of the Dow's largest point losses occurred in 2000. graphic
    But Thursday, investors bought stocks in both indexes as more shares rose than fell. Advancing issues on the New York Stock Exchange outpaced declining ones 1,833 to 1,160. Trading volume topped 1 billion. Nasdaq winners edged out losers 2,177 to 2,071, with more than 1.7 billion shares changing hands.
     In other markets, the dollar rose against the yen but fell against the euro. Treasury securities soared.
    
A boost from Microsoft

    Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) surged 8-5/8 to 111-7/4 after the Wall Street Journal said talks between the software company and the government have picked up, and a settlement of the antitrust case may now be possible.
    "It looks like the threat of breaking up the company has been taken off the table and is beginning to fade," said Alan Skrainka, chief market strategist at Edward Jones.
    General Electric  (GE: Research, Estimates) catapulted 9-1/8 to 160 after Lehman Brothers raised its GE rating to "buy" and set a $200 price target on its stock.
    Peter Cardillo, director of research at Westfalia Investments, linked some of the day's gains to expectations of a solid April earnings-reporting season.
    Particularly for tech firms.
    "Technology has the strongest growth rates," Pimco's McKechnie said. "These companies grow 20, 40, 50, 60 percent; the broad economy just doesn't grow that fast."
    Technology companies in the S&P 500 are expected to grow profits by 26.2 percent in the first quarter, outpacing the 18.4 percent gain for the overall index, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.
    Two of the day's most closely watched earnings reports may foreshadow that trend.  Morgan Stanley Dean Witter  (MWD: Research, Estimates) surged 4-5/8 to 94-3/4 after the brokerage posted earnings of $1.34 a share for the latest quarter, topping Wall Street forecasts of $1.06 a share.  Other brokers also rose.
    And FedEx Corp. (FDX: Research, Estimates) jumped 2-1/2 to 39-3/4 after the parcel delivery firm posted net income of $113 million, or 39 cents a diluted share, for the quarter ended Feb. 29, above the 34 cents Wall Street expected.
    In technology winners, Cisco Systems  (CSCO: Research, Estimates) jumped 5-5/8 to 77-13/16 and Qualcomm  (QCOM: Research, Estimates) leapt 9-1/4 to 144-1/8.
    But biotech shares fell. Amgen (AMGN: Research, Estimates) shed 4-1/16 to 57-11/16 and Biogen (BGEN: Research, Estimates) dropped 5-3/8 to 76-1/8.
    Lifting the Dow, J.P. Morgan  (JPM: Research, Estimates) catapulted 7-1/6 to 136-1/8, American Express  (AXP: Research, Estimates) surged 8-1/8 to 155-7/8 and General Motors (GM: Research, Estimates) soared 4-3/4 to 86-1/2.
    Christopher Wolfe, equity market strategist at J.P. Morgan, told CNN's In the Money that old-economy stocks can do well if they incorporate new-economy ways (411K WAV) (411K AIFF).
    
Bye, bye MCI

    In stocks in the news, MCI Worldcom Inc. (WCOM: Research, Estimates) lost 3/4 to 42-15/16. Former NBA star Michael Jordan said he will stop doing commercials for the long-distance provider, although he will fulfill existing contracts.
    Chase Manhattan  (CMB: Research, Estimates) surged 6-15/16 to 98-1/2. The bank declined to comment on a Financial Times report suggesting Chase was in talks to acquire U.K.-based investment house Robert Fleming Holdings.
    Campbell Soup Co.  (CPB: Research, Estimates) gained 3/8 to 30-1/16 after the soup maker announced late Wednesday that its president and chief executive officer, Dale Morrison, had resigned after three years in the job. Back to top

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.