Posted on: Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Technology stocks defy downbeat market mood
By Meg Richards
Associated Press
NEW YORK — A grim combination of higher oil prices and lowered outlooks from such companies as Colgate-Palmolive Co., Unilever PLC and the New York Times Co. sent stocks sliding yesterday. Blue chips bore the brunt of the selling.
"It seems a contrarian view is developing in the tech sector. There's a feeling that they're probably oversold, and as a result we're seeing investors having second thoughts about unloading them," said Peter Cardillo, chief strategist with S.W. Bach & Co. "Unfortunately, the market as a whole is going to continue to live with this oil issue."
Anxiety about global oil supply sent crude futures higher as beleaguered Russian oil giant Yukos announced plans to stop shipments to China. The latest event to aggravate the oil market came just days after Hurricane Ivan cut daily production in the Gulf of Mexico by half. Light sweet crude for October delivery settled up 76 cents at $46.35.
The earnings picture for the current quarter remains somewhat cloudy. Investors are increasingly worried about slower growth in the second half.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 1.49 billion shares traded, compared with 1.8 billion on Friday.
The negative news from Colgate-Palmolive, its first profit warning in nearly a decade, and a brokerage downgrade of Citigroup Inc. pressured the Dow Jones industrials. Trading was light, as many investors stuck to the sidelines ahead of a key meeting of the Federal Reserve. But analysts noted unusually strong performance among semiconductor shares despite chipmakers' forecasts of slower growth. The Philadelphia semiconductor index surged 2.9 percent.
