Posted at 11:35 a.m., Friday, May 18, 2001
Strong week on Wall Street ends on high note
Associated Press
NEW YORK — The stock market ended a strong week with more signs of vigor today as blue chip and technology issues rebounded from early losses to close with a moderate advance.
Analysts said the market's ability to reverse direction and extend its gains was another sign that Wall Street is recovering from its long slump.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 53.16 to 11,301.74, according to preliminary calculations, giving the index a more than 375-point advance over the past three sessions. This was also the Dow's highest close since Sept. 6, when it reached 11,310.64.
Broader stock indicators also closed higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 3.47 to close at 1,291.96, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.21 to 2,198.89.
Trading was light and choppy throughout the session, although stocks turned decisively higher during the last 15 minutes of trading.
"Today was remarkably unexciting compared to the fireworks we've become accustomed to, but that's a good thing," said Bob Streed, portfolio manager of Northern Select Equity. "The fact you'd have a week as strong as we did without a big correction is very encouraging."
In technology, trading tended to be company-specific. Cisco Systems rose 34 cents to $20.20, while Dell Computer dropped $1.09 to $24.79 after reporting first-quarter results in line with expectations but warning that second-quarter revenue might fall.
Energy-related stocks fared better, reflecting rising oil prices. Schlumberger was up 54 cents at $68.53. Investors also were interested in McDonald's, sending the fast-food chain up $1.30 to $29.80.
And embattled technology company Lucent rose 12 cents to $9.93 on rumors it was being eyed for acquisition by Alcatel, which fell $1.89 to $30.15.
The late turnaround was a positive end to a week that saw the Dow close above 11,000 Wednesday for the first time since September. The Nasdaq also recorded some strong, although not as spectacular, gains.
The moves are the latest advances in a recovery that began in early April. The Dow, which fell briefly into a bear market on March 23, is now up 4.8 percent since the beginning of the year.
All three indexes are still below their all-time highs, although the Dow is within striking distance: only 4 percent from the 11,722.98 it reached on Jan. 14, 2000.
"We've had a lot of money come into the market this week and, so far, the follow-through has been quite decent," said David Eisenberg, chief equity officer at John Hancock Advisers.
The market had little reaction to the new Commerce Department report showing the U.S. trade deficit widening by 16.1 percent in March, jumping to a record $31.2 billion — a bigger increase than analysts expected.
Advancing issues led decliners 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 1.11 billion shares, compared with 1.34 billion yesterday.
The Russell 2000 index rose 1.52 to 506.28.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.2 percent. European markets were stronger. Germany's DAX index climbed 0.2 percent, up 0.04 percent, Britain's FT-SE 100 gained nearly 0.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.8 percent.
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