Posted on: Friday, January 30, 2004
Unease leaves stocks 'on precarious perch'
By Michael J. Martinez
Associated Press
Investors wrestled with how to view Wednesday's 141-point drop in the Dow — as a buying opportunity or a sign of a market correction — and how the Federal Reserve's changing stance on interest rates would factor in.
"The market is on a precarious perch right now," said Bryan Piskorowski, market commentator at Wachovia Securities. "Fundamentals are definitely robust, but there's always the question of how robust they'll be down the road. That's the question people are making their bets on."
Many on Wall Street hoped the Fed's rate statement, and the selling it sparked, was an excuse to lock in profits rather than the beginning of a larger selling trend, especially given the economy's overall health and the strength of recent earnings reports.
But the trading volatility that marks most earnings seasons persisted, despite nearly two-thirds of the S&P 500 companies beating analysts' expectations.
New economic data from the government did not provide a clear picture of the pace and health of the recovery.
First-time jobless claims for the week fell by 1,000 to the lowest level since the end of December. However, wages and benefits grew by only 0.7 percent, the lowest monthly rise in a year. Wall Street was looking ahead to today's gross domestic product figures and next week's January payroll data for a better read on the overall economy.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was 2.49 billion shares traded, compared with 2.41 billion shares Wednesday.
NEW YORK — Stocks were mixed yesterday as investors sought a direction for the market after a major selloff the day before. The Dow Jones industrials closed higher, while technology stocks fell for a third straight session.
