NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. stocks rose Friday, closing the first half of the year on a strong note, but not strong enough to lift any of the major stock indexes higher for 2000.
The Nasdaq composite index garnered the biggest gains as money managers facing the end of the second quarter dressed portfolios with winning stocks to show clients.
"I like to think of it as cash being put to work," said Peter Coolidge, head trader at Brean Murray & Co. "This is sort of last-minute housekeeping."
But that cash wasn't enough to lift the longer-term performance of major U.S. stocks indexes. The Nasdaq, along with the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500, all are down for the second quarter, which ended Friday, and for 2000 year to date.
For investors accustomed to the kind of gains of 1999, when the Nasdaq composite index surged 86 percent, the losses may come as a surprise.
"Cleary this had been a disappointing first half," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co. told CNN's Street Sweep. "But I would argue that long-term investors need this kind of an education to show them that markets don't go up forever."
Still Hogan is bullish on the market for the second half of the year. He sees investors shifting focus to strong second-quarter earnings reports and away from the Federal Reserve, which he believes is finished raising interest rates.
The Nasdaq rose 88.88 points, or 2.31 percent, to 3,966.11 Friday, bringing its gains to 3 percent for the week. Microsoft, Oracle and Sun Microsystems all rose more than 3 percent.
The Dow also rose as gains in Hewlett-Packard offset losses in IBM and Coca-Cola. The index of 30 blue chip stocks climbed 49.85 to 10,447.89 and is up 0.4 percent for the week.
The S&P 500, up 0.9 percent over the last five days, gained 12.21 to 1,454.60 Friday.
But the quarterly and half-year performances are negative and come under the weight of six Federal Reserve interest rate hikes in a year. The Nasdaq, off 2.5 percent for the year, tumbled 13 percent for the April though June period - its worst quarterly performance since 1990.
The Dow, off 9 percent in 2000, tumbled 4.3 percent in the second quarter, hurt by big losses in Procter & Gamble and Honeywell. Both companies issued profit warnings this year.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, has held up the best. The index of large company stocks has fallen 1 percent year to date and 3 percent for the second quarter.
But the S&P's biggest winner and loser tell a tale of extremes. Nabisco Holdings Group (NGH: Research, Estimates), the subject of several takeover offers, rose 128 percent this quarter. But Citrix (CTXS: Research, Estimates) Systems took the losing spot, falling 62 percent.
Market breadth was mixed Friday. Declining issues edged out advancing ones 1,511 to 1,509 on the New York Stock Exchange, where nearly 1.4 billion shares changed hands. Nasdaq winners topped losers 2,224 to 1,846 as more than 1.5 billion shares changed hands.
In other markets, Treasury securities were mixed. The dollar fell against the euro but rose versus the yen.
Techs draw buyers
Stocks often rise on the last day of the quarter. That was the case on March 31 and on Dec. 31, 1999, as portfolio managers dressed up their accounts ahead of the three-month reporting period.
Friday was no exception. Leading a rally in telecom stocks, Ericsson (ERICY: Research, Estimates) surged 1-5/16 to 20.
Palm continued a strong run that began after the maker of hand-held computer devices posted quarterly earnings Wednesday that beat Wall Street expectations. Palm (PALM: Research, Estimates) surged 3-11/16 to 33-3/8.
JDS Uniphase (JDSU: Research, Estimates) gained 3-1/2 to 119-7/8. PaineWebber added JDS Uniphase to its highlighted stocks list. Chipmakers also jumped, led by Applied Materials (AMAT: Research, Estimates), up 1-9/16 to 90-5/8.
Lifting the Dow, Hewlett-Packard (HWP: Research, Estimates) surged 4-5/8 to 124-3/8.
The Dow's slight gains for the week come amid a period when more than 32 companies said they will miss Wall Street profit forecasts. Companies such as Unisys, Goodyear and Dial were punished after disclosing disappointing profit outlooks.
With the second quarter ended Friday and the reporting season weeks away, investors appear leery that other companies may disappoint.
Retail stocks, often hurt when the economy slows, were among the year's worst performing issues. Drug stocks, which traditionally hold up well in a downturn, have soared in 2000.
The Dow's loses were paced by IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates), down 4-7/16 to 109-9/16, and Coca-Cola (KO: Research, Estimates), off 1-5/8 to 57-7/16.
"You had to be in tech to win in this period," said Ned Riley, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors.
Trading volume was surprisingly busy for a Friday. That's expected to change on Monday, when U.S. markets close at 1 p.m. and will be halted all day Tuesday, July 4.
In economic indicators, personal income rose 0.4 percent in May while personal spending gained 0.2 percent, the government said, close to expectations. The news had no apparent market effect. Still, the moderation in spending is consistent with a series of data showing that the U.S. economy is cooling under the weight the Fed's credit tightening campaign.
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