Another input on the day's action and the outlook for the week from CBSMW.
<<U.S. stocks end up on earnings hopes
Nasdaq at best end since July 2001; Dow off session high
By Mark Cotton, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:46 PM ET Jan. 12, 2004
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- U.S. stocks closed higher Monday, rallying late in the afternoon on confidence that U.S companies, led by Intel and GE this week, will deliver solid earnings and supply upbeat outlooks for the year ahead.
"GE and Intel's earnings this week are very important," said Mike Holland, fund manager of the Holland Balanced Fund. "If either of those companies surprises on the upside or the downside, it will be much more significant than last week's job numbers."
On Friday, shares fell sharply after the Labor Department said only 1,000 new jobs were created in the U.S. in December, far below analysts' expectations.
"Right now the market is betting earnings will surprise on the upside," said Holland in explaining Monday's gains.
Intel (INTC: news, chart, profile) reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday after the market close while GE (GE: news, chart, profile)will post its results on Friday before the bell.
The Dow industrials ($INDU: news, chart, profile) closed just off session highs, up 26 points, or 0.3 percent, at 10,485. In volatile morning trading, the benchmark index fell to an intraday low of 10,444.
Of the Dow 30, 19 stocks gained, while 11 declined. Merck and Alcoa, both hit by broker downgrades, were the most notable decliners, while Hewlett-Packard, SBC Communications and Caterpillar were three of the biggest percentage gainers.
The Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ: news, chart, profile) rose 25 points, or 1.2 percent, to 2,112, closing at its best level since July 2001. The S&P 500 finished up 5 points to 1,127.
On the broader market, there were 20 advancers for every 12 decliners on the NYSE, while gainers had a 21 to 11 edge over decliners on the Nasdaq.
Among gaining sectors, Internet, chip, software and networking stocks all performed strongly. Retailers were noticeable laggards.
Total volume was 1.5 billion on the NYSE and 2.3 billion on the Nasdaq Exchange.>> |
