Posted on: Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Investors seem hesitant, but stocks gain slightly
By Michael J. Martinez
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Wall Street managed a small advance for a second straight session yesterday after the government released benign inflation figures and a newspaper reported that General Motors Corp. is seeking healthcare concessions from the United Auto Workers.
The mixed economic data implies "that the Federal Reserve may continue to raise short-term interest rates at a measured pace, but they may pause periodically," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at Johnson Illington Advisors. "That's good news for the economy, for earnings and stock prices."
The Nasdaq was lower most of the session as investors took profits in the recently active technology sector. At the end of the session, the Nasdaq composite index was up just 0.08, closing at 2,069.04.
Investors had been hoping that this week's raft of economic data would provide the necessary impetus to lift stocks further. Now, however, investors may be holding off until the end of the quarter before making any large bets on stocks.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners yesterday by more than 5 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, where preliminary consolidated volume came to 1.71 billion shares, compared with 1.65 billion traded on Monday.
Investors who had waited anxiously for the Labor Department's inflation report were pleased by the 0.6 percent drop in the Producer Price Index, as opposed to a 0.2 percent decrease forecast by economists. But May retail sales, as reported by the Commerce Department, fell a disappointing 0.5 percent, more than the 0.2 percent analysts expected.
