Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mike M2 who wrote (26415)	12/20/2002 2:50:15 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 74559

Stocks Rise, Helped by Greenspan, Wall Street Deal URL: foxnews.com Friday, December 20, 2002 NEW YORK — Stocks rose Friday as a settlement was reached with Wall Street firms over the long-festering issue of biased stock research and amid comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan that growth could accelerate next year with little risk of deflation. In mid-afternoon trading Friday, the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average was up 103 points at 8,468 while the technology-packed Nasdaq Composite Index was up 5 points at 1,359. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 8 points at 893. Investors also took heart as as worries about Iraq eased, the price of oil fell and data showed the U.S. economy expanded briskly in the third quarter. "Oil came down to about $30 this morning, and the market rallied. There was a lot of negative stuff yesterday about Iraq, but people realize we're really not going to do anything until January," said Todd Leone, head of listed trading for SG Cowen Securities Inc. "A lot of the rally has to due with the settlement." Wall Street firms will pay $1.4 billion to settle charges that they issued biased stock research, in a long-awaited settlement of a government probe of investment banks and brokerage firms. The United States said Thursday Baghdad was in "material breach" of a United Nation arms resolution, a term that could trigger war. But U.S. officials said the next milestone would be Jan. 27 when U.N. weapons inspectors are scheduled to make their first substantial assessment to the Security Council. The comments boosted hopes an attack is not expected immediately. Light crude for February delivery slipped to under $30 a barrel in New York, after Saudi Arabia said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would make up for any oil shortfall due to the strike in Venezuela. In addition, changes to Standard & Poor's indexes and the Nasdaq 100 take effect at the close of trading. The rebalancing can spark market swings, as index managers whose portfolios track the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, must buy and sell shares to adjust for the weight change of each constituent. Leone said he would not be surprised to see some violent swings in indexes in the last 15 minutes of trading. Nike Inc. (NKE) jumped $3.09, or 7.4 percent, to $44.62 after the world's largest maker of sport shoes said quarterly earnings rose 18 percent. Nike rival Reebok International Ltd. (RBK) rose $1.90, or 6.7 percent, to $29.48. Oilfield services company Halliburton Co. (HAL) sagged 65 cents to $18.85 after saying the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had launched a formal investigation into its disclosure and accounting practices. U.S. investment banks were in the spotlight. Under terms of the settlement, Wall Street firms will pay $900 million in 'retrospective relief' for investors, $450 million to fund independent research and $85 million for what regulators called 'investor education'. The practice of "spinning" -- giving shares of initial public offerings to favored clients -- will also be banned. In addition, stock analysts will be banned from investment road shows and deal pitches, or meetings where brokers recommend deals to potential clients. The S&P diversified financial services index rose 2.55 percent, led by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which advanced $1.31 to $24.64. The latest economic data showed the U.S. economy expanded briskly during the third quarter on a wave of consumer spending, the Commerce Department said. U.S. gross domestic product, the measure of total output within U.S. borders, rose at a 4 percent annual rate in the July-September three-month period - the same as estimated a month ago and more than triple the 1.3 percent rate posted in the second quarter. The department's third and final assessment of third-quarter performance contained only minor changes from the figures it published a month ago. Trading was heavy, as investors scrambled to position themselves as futures and options contracts expired. More than 1.07 billion shares changed hands on the Big Board, while almost 1 billion Nasdaq shares traded. The Russell 2000 index, a barometer of smaller company stocks, rose 1.32, or 0.3 percent, to 384.73. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 0.2 percent higher Friday. In afternoon trading in Europe, France's CAC-40 climbed 0.6 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent and Germany's DAX index gained 0.5 percent. Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.