Don't believe the rally, The economy is on a roll and stocks are racing -- isn't anybody reading the fine print?
March 4, 2002: 6:20 p.m. ET
By Adam Lashinsky
money.cnn.com
SAN FRANCISCO (CNN/Money) - Investors want to believe, and why not? Believing felt so good for so long.
Want proof that hope springs eternal? Oracle, a bellwether technology company, reported late Friday in cryptic and minimalist language that its quarterly results will be below Wall Street's expectations. (Hard and fast rule: Always fear the 5:11 p.m., Friday afternoon press release.)
Oracle attributes the shortfall to weakness in Asia, and predictably, its stock cratered Monday, falling $2.32, or 15 percent, to $13.67.
A few weeks ago, Oracle's announcement might have sent the jittery market into a tailspin. But the market rallied, with the Nasdaq ending up 3.1 percent. Non-newsmaking leaders like Cisco (up 10 percent), Ebay (up 8 percent) and Micron Technology (up 7 percent) outpaced the market.
Why shrug off Oracle? Mr. Market and the conventional wisdom had an answer: Manugistics, a supplier of software that helps manufacturers communicate with its suppliers. Manugistics said business for the fourth quarter was better than it expected, and it is calling back some of its furloughed workers. Hurray! |
