Posted on: Friday, February 25, 2005
Stocks soar in late rally after narrow trading
By Michael J. Martinez
Associated Press
NEW YORK — A late surge in buying sent stocks sharply higher yesterday as an upbeat oil inventory report helped investors look past rising oil prices and mediocre economic data.
Combined with the rather unimpressive economic data showing a slight rise in unemployment and a dropoff in orders for big-ticket items, the fact that the markets did not slide further earlier in the session boosted investors' confidence.
"I think you're seeing a lot of institutional money that was put to work this afternoon," said Chris Johnson, manager of quantitative analysis at Schaeffer's
Investment Research in Cincinnati. "Stocks traded pretty narrowly most of the day but didn't give ground, and we're seeing a bounce off that."
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 9-to-5 on the Big Board, where preliminary consolidated volume came to 1.9 billion shares, compared with 1.86 billion on Wednesday.
The market's late move higher may not be a sign of a strong rally, analysts said, especially with the dollar still low and oil prices above $50 per barrel.
Inflation is "the big question" that "still hasn't been answered in a real way," said Will Gourd, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. "I think the market could be kind of cranky here."
The Energy Department's weekly inventory report showed strong reserves in gasoline, heating oil and other distillates.
