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Rally after 3 days declines { July 19 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.newsday.com/business/printedition/ny-bzstox193378499jul19,0,6362881.story?coll=ny-business-printhttp://www.newsday.com/business/printedition/ny-bzstox193378499jul19,0,6362881.story?coll=ny-business-print
Stocks Rally After 3 Days Of Declines
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 19, 2003
Stocks shot higher Friday, boosted by an upbeat outlook from Microsoft and investors' desire to buy after three days of declines.
Analysts also attributed the rally to investors' increased confidence and willingness to bet on an economic rebound in the second half of 2003.
"We are back to almost a momentum driven market. Everyone wants to be invested. ... It is a herd mentality," said Michael Murphy, head trader at Wachovia Securities in Baltimore. "People are looking for reasons to buy stocks, not looking for reasons to sell."
The Dow Jones industrial average yesterday closed up 137.33, or 1.5 percent, at 9,188.15, more than recouping the 126.33 points it forfeited in the previous three sessions.
The market's broader gauges also bounced back after three straight declines. The Nasdaq rose 10.48, or 0.6 percent, to 1,708.50, having dropped 49.95 points on Thursday - the biggest one-day loss in four months. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 11.59, or 1.2 percent, to 993.32.
For the week the Dow gained 68.56, or 0.8 percent. The Nasdaq fell 25.43, or 1.5 percent, while the S&P declined 4.82, or 0.5 percent. Since March 11, when this year's rally began, the Dow has climbed 1,664.09, or 22.1 percent, the Nasdaq 437.04 points, or 34.4 percent, and the S&P 192.59 points, or 24.1 percent.
Friday's rally was owed largely to Microsoft. Although the software maker missed quarterly earnings expectations by a penny late Thursday, it announced that it was raising its outlook for fiscal year 2004. That was just the kind of news bullish investors were craving. Microsoft rose 39 cents to $27.08.
Early in the session, a disappointing reading on consumers' mood weighed on the market. The University of Michigan's preliminary reading on consumer sentiment came in at 90.3, up from 89.7 in June, but below the 90.5 expected by analysts.
In the bond market, evidence that the economy is growing stronger caused U.S. Treasuries to fall in New York trading, with the 10-year note having its steepest weekly decline since the invasion of Iraq. The benchmark 10-year note yield, which last month declined to a 45-year low of 3.07 percent, rose above 4 percent.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
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