Major indexes rally Monday on light volume as investors look to solid first-quarter earnings.
April 12, 2004: 4:07 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stock markets rose Monday on bets that first-quarter earnings will delight and relief that terrorism concerns have moved into the background.
According to preliminary reports, the Dow Jones industrial average (up 73.53 to 10515.56, Charts) added 0.7 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 (up 5.90 to 1145.22, Charts) index and the Nasdaq composite (up 12.60 to 2065.48, Charts) both gained just over 0.5 percent.
Commodities prices rallied and the dollar was mostly weaker versus other major currencies. Volume was very light.
U.S. stock and bond markets were closed for Good Friday and some market watchers had feared that the Easter weekend would bring a new round of geopolitical woes and possibly another terrorist attack. But with the weekend concluding quietly, investors returned Monday focused on the earnings.
First-quarter earnings are expected to be strong, with analysts surveyed by First Call looking for gains of close to 20 percent versus the same period a year earlier. Financial, technology and airline companies dominate this week's earnings reports. (For an in-depth look at this week's results, click here.)
Here's what was moving near the close.
What moved?
Again, companies that deal in security were the Nasdaq's biggest percentage gainers, verifying that geopolitical worries remain in focus. Among the movers, software maker IPIX (IPIX: up $6.66 to $22.16, Research, Estimates) gained 51 percent, security products maker Mace Security International (MACE: up $4.95 to $8.00, Research, Estimates) gained 133 percent, defense company Arotech (ARTX: up $0.18 to $3.15, Research, Estimates) gained 14 percent, surveillance products maker Digital Record (TBUS: up $5.46 to $14.07, Research, Estimates) up 73 percent and aviation security services provider ICTS (ICTS: up $3.42 to $8.42, Research, Estimates) International, up 71 percent.
Intel (INTC: up $0.23 to $27.60, Research, Estimates) was the Nasdaq's third most active, one session ahead of its expected earnings release, although its share price was basically unchanged. The chip leader said it plans to introduce chips that will allow video conferencing on mobile phones and DVD-quality video playback on handheld devices.
On the downside, mortgage lender NovaStar Financial (NFI: down $16.68 to $37.50, Research, Estimates) fell 23 percent following a Wall Street Journal article that discussed the company's recent failure to comply with state licensing rules In Nevada, and elsewhere, and the impact this could have on its business. Other lenders fell as well, including New Century Financial (NCEN: down $2.50 to $46.35, Research, Estimates), down 6 percent, and American Home Mortgage Investment (AHH: down $0.94 to $24.10, Research, Estimates), down 4 percent.
Additionally, Dow component Walt Disney (DIS: down $0.55 to $25.70, Research, Estimates) fell 2.25 percent after its historic epic "The Alamo" had a poor box office opening over the weekend.
However, most Dow components gained. Caterpillar (CAT: up $1.77 to $83.75, Research, Estimates), Boeing (BA: up $0.80 to $42.15, Research, Estimates), DuPont (DD: up $0.63 to $44.06, Research, Estimates), Exxon Mobil (XOM: up $0.66 to $43.11, Research, Estimates) and 3M (MMM: up $1.19 to $83.62, Research, Estimates) were the biggest advancers.
DuPont said Monday that it will cut about six percent of its staff as part of its previously-announced cost-cutting initiative.
Market breadth was mixed, and volume remained light. On the New York Stock Exchange, where 860 million shares traded, decliners edged advancers. On the Nasdaq, gainers beat losers by eight to seven, with 1.19 billion shares changing hands.
Treasury prices fell, sending the 10-year note yield up to 4.23 percent from 4.18 percent late Thursday. The dollar was lower versus the yen and little changed versus the euro,
Among commodities markets, NYMEX light sweet crude oil futures rose 61 cents to $37.75 a barrel, boosting oil stocks. COMEX gold gained 20 cents to $420.90.
In international trading, Asian markets ended mostly higher, while most European markets were closed for the Easter holiday.
O Clubeinvest.com informa que nenhuma da informação
aqui facultada deverá ser entendida como conselho ou recomendação
de qualquer tipo de transacção ou investimento.
