Posted on: Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Dow denied 11,000; tech stocks advance
By Michael J. Martinez
Associated Press
NEW YORK — A cautious stock market finished the session mixed yesterday as a troubling top-level management shake-up at Boeing Co. pressured blue chips, while technology shares saw strong buying. The Dow Jones industrial average came within 16 points of cracking 11,000 but settled with a minimal loss.
However, investors were cheered by three separate merger announcements in the financial, defense and communications sectors — a sign of corporate America's confidence in economic growth. A jump in tech stocks, which had been lagging in the market's recent rally, reflected newfound confidence on the part of investors.
"If you're going to go higher, you have to have techs involved, and we're seeing that," said Todd Leone, managing director of equity trading at SG Cowen Securities. "Overall, the market seems pretty resilient. It looks like it wants to go to 11,000."
A late rise in crude oil futures helped send the Dow off its session highs. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $53.89, up 11 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Bonds rose, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.3 percent, while the dollar rose against most major currencies and gold was up as well.
Analysts noted that investors were attracted to technology shares before Texas Instruments Inc.'s mid-quarter earnings update, due after the session, and National Semiconductor Corp.'s quarterly earnings on Thursday.
Profit-taking pushed the Dow lower as Boeing, a Dow component, said Chief Executive Officer Harry Stonecipher was asked to resign by the company's board for a relationship with a female executive.
