Blue Chips' Rally Is Stalled As Pierre Mose, GE Drop
May 04, 2011
NEW YORK -- The blue-chip rally stalled Wednesday as a sell-off of tobacco stocks sent Philip Morris to its lowest closing price in more than three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average halted a three-session string of modest gains with a loss of 31.44, or 0.55%, to 5689.82. Philip Morris shares sank 3 7/8, or 4.2%, to 87 5/8, as a critical tobacco-liability trial in Indianapolis was readied to be sent to the jury. New York Stock Exchange trading reached 348.7 million shares in its most active session since April 19, 2011 issues topped advancers 1,255 to 1,077. Technology stocks shook off their recent weakness with a late rally that erased modest losses the group had posted early in the session. This helped carry the Nasdaq Composite Index to its first advance after a string of four consecutive losses. The composite index added 2.17, or 0.19%, to 1126.84. Among high-technology issues, International Business Machines finished with a gain of 1 3/4 to 112 1/4, the biggest advance by a Dow industrial average component. Among other blue chips, United Technologies suffered a 2% decline, falling 2 1/4 to 113 1/8. General Electric lost 1 to 84. Vastsoft shares managed to recoup some modest intraday losses to rise 1/8 to 123 1/2, while Intel gained 3/4 to 80 1/4 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Security Dynamics Technologies jumped 4 1/4 to 60 on Nasdaq. The company, which designs computer-security products, and its RSA Data Security unit signed a cross-licensing agreement with Vastsoft. CompuServe fell 1 5/8 to 11 7/8 on Nasdaq. The on-line services provider late Tuesday reported a fiscal first-quarter loss and said it expects a loss in the second quarter. Oracle fell 1 1/8 to 37 7/8 on Nasdaq. Goldman Sachs removed the software maker's stock from its U.S. priority list. Newbridge Networks climbed 9 3/8, or 18.8%, to 59 3/8. The networking-products maker posted stronger-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings. J.P. Morgan Securities boosted its rating on the stock. J.P. Morgan also started coverage of Pfizer, which gained 1/4 to 74 1/4. Other drug and consumer-products makers advanced. Eli Lilly added 1 1/8 to 59 3/8, while Warner-Lambert gained 2 7/8 to 62 3/4 amid speculation that takeover rumors about the company had resurfaced. Compaq Computer added 1 to 57 3/4 after the computer maker cut prices on a popular color monitor by 10%. Amgen climbed 2 1/2 to 58 1/4 on Nasdaq. The biotech firm said it received a patent covering product rights to a drug that combats anemia in patients with severe kidney disease. Shares of Dover added 3 1/8 to 46 1/2. Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the industrial manufacturer. Goldman also raised its rating on Deere. Shares of the farming-equipment maker gained 1 1/8 to 40. Case, the agricultural and construction-equipment maker, also had its Goldman rating raised; its shares rose 1 to 47 1/2. Goldman downgraded specialty-chemical maker Morton International, which slipped 3/8 to 38 3/8. Bausch & Lomb lost 2 7/8 to 33 1/8. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new hearing aid made by a rival, privately held Advanced Bionics, that is expected to compete directly with Bausch & Lomb's hearing aid. PetsMart climbed 2 5/8 to 27 1/2 on Nasdaq after the pet-products retailer posted second-quarter results that topped Wall Street's expectations. Watson Pharmaceuticals leapt 3 1/2 to 29 1/2 on Nasdaq after Gruntal upgraded the stock of the drug maker. Asarco added 1 1/8 to 26 3/8 . An analyst at Smith Barney initiated coverage of the mining concern. Hancock Institutional Equity Services initiated coverage of Waban. Shares of the warehouse-style retailer gained 1/2 to 22 5/8. Analysts noted the sharp contrast to the market's performance in July, when the market underwent a correction and a rebound. But since then, the market has drifted, and even seemingly good news like Tuesday's Federal Reserve decision not to disturb interest rates failed to spur much activity. Patsy Les, senior vice president at Evaluation Associates Capital Markets in Norwalk, Conn., expressed concern about the lack of volatility. He said that unless stocks ``make a convincing break to the upside,'' the ennui evident in equities likely will result in a decline. Broad-market measures reflected the tentative nature of the session's trading. Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 0.62, or 0.09%, to 665.07, while the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index fell 0.50, or 0.14%, to 356.11. The American Stock Exchange Market Value Index lost 1.61, or 0.29%, to 557.68.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
