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Dow hits 12800 record high { March 2007 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/18/ap3627068.htmlhttp://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/18/ap3627068.html
Associated Press
Stocks Mixed As Dow Sets Trading High
By MADLEN READ 04.18.07, 3:16 PM ET
Wall Street was mixed in lackluster trading Wednesday though investors pushed the Dow Jones industrials to a new trading high and past 12,800 for the first time. Stocks showed little overall movement as investors were hesitant about buying into the broader market following disappointing earnings from technology leaders including Yahoo Inc.
The Dow rose moderately but moved as high as 12,813.51, signaling the market's recovery from its sharp fall in February, when a global pullback shaved more than 3 percent from the major U.S. indexes.
Bond prices also rose Wednesday, extending their advance as investors grew optimistic that the Federal Reserve won't raise interest rates.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted the Dow after the bank reported a 55 percent jump in profits that far surpassed Wall Street's expectations. The 30 companies that make up the index - nearly half of which report earnings this week - have been mostly beating the Street's predictions.
But investors pulled back from tech stocks after Yahoo posted a surprising 11 percent drop in its first-quarter profit. Disappointing results from International Business Machines Corp. and Motorola Inc. added to the selling.
Mike Malone, a trading analyst at Cowen & Co., said results from Yahoo stunted some of the market's appetite for technology issues. However, he dismissed the idea of Yahoo's earnings being the start of any trend for first-quarter reports.
"There has been some company-specific issues out there, but they really aren't indicative of the underlying earnings environment," he said.
Wall Street was uneasy about a sharp drop in the dollar, which is now at 26-year lows against the British pound. The U.S. currency has weakened because interest rates have remained steady since the summer and amid signs of a slowing U.S. economy.
In late afternoon trading, the Dow rose 38.84, or 0.30 percent, to 12,811.88. The Dow topped a previous trading high of 12,795.93 set Feb. 20.
Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.24, or 0.15 percent, to 1,473.72, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 4.22, or 0.17 percent, to 2,512.73.
Light, sweet crude rose 3 cents to $63.13 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange although a government report showed a bigger-than-expected decline in gasoline inventories. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said stockpiles dropped 2.7 million barrels to 197 million barrels.
Charlie White, chief investment officer of the ThomasLloyd Funds, said that while overall earnings have been good, investors appear to still be waiting further signs about where the economy is headed.
"It's one of these periods of time that you don't have any compelling evidence either way and what you need to do is stay focused and be patient," he said. "I ask myself the question, 'Is this the beginning of a leg up in a bull market, or is this a last gasp?'"
Investors are focused on earnings reports to discern a direction for stocks. S&P has predicted earnings for companies in the S&P 500 grew less than 4 percent in the first quarter, much less than in previous quarters.
Yahoo plunged $3.73, or 11.6 percent, to $28.36 after the Internet portal reported disappointing results late Tuesday. The results left Wall Street wondering how much longer it will take the company to regain its financial footing after it stumbled through most of 2006.
Pressure was felt elsewhere in the tech sector. IBM posted disappointing results late Tuesday, and its shares dropped $2.35, or 2.4 percent, to $94.76. Hard driver maker Seagate Technology LLC fell $1.17, or 5.3 percent, to $20.98 after it reported profit fell 22 percent in the first quarter, and lowered its forecast.
Motorola reported a first-quarter loss due to sluggish sales, and charges to cover a legal settlement and restructuring efforts. However, sales surpassed expectations and the stock rose 34 cents to $18.29.
Medical device maker Abbott Laboratories Inc. fell $1.05 to $57.95, after it said Wednesday its first-quarter profit fell 19 percent. The results excluding certain items, however, beat analyst estimates.
JPMorgan Chase rose $1.96, or 3.9 percent, to $52.14 after the nation's third-largest bank reported a 55 percent increase in profit. The New York-based bank said first-quarter results were boosted by strength across its primary business lines, though it did increase reserves to offset subprime mortgage losses.
Declining issues led advancers 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.22 billion shares.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 2.31, or 0.28 percent, to 826.65.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed up 0.80 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 0.74 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.90 percent, and France's CAC-40 dropped 0.38 percent.
South Korean and Australian stocks hit new records Wednesday, while the sometimes-volatile Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.01 percent. It was a nearly 9 percent drop in the Shanghai Composite index that helped trigger the Feb. 27 selloff. Indexes like the Shanghai Composite, however, took less time to resume hitting highs than did most U.S. indexes.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
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