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To: Slumdog who wrote (48850)	4/4/1999 12:15:00 PM
From: Jenne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Wall Street ride to continue Markets to stay choppy, but analysts see strength in tech, healthcare stocks April 2, 1999: 4:34 p.m. ET NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Analysts are predicting another pattern of volatile trading next week on Wall Street, fueled by lingering concerns over how long this bull market can last. For those who choose not to cash out, however, experts say technology, healthcare and financial-services stocks are well positioned for growth. The markets are closed Friday ahead of the Easter holiday. "In the overall market, it's just going to be more of the same with a good deal of volatility," said Value Line Asset Management analyst Alan Hoffman. "It's been a long bull market and, in the event that the market might turn bearish, there's more than a usual amount of nervousness about holdings in long positions. Investors are locking in profits in a more knee-jerk fashion than they would be if we were dealing with a more stable environment." News that Internet portal Yahoo! (YHOO) reached a deal to buy Broadcast.com (BCST) for $5.7 billion in stock, led to a rally in technology sector stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 46.35 points to close at 9,832.51. The Dow finished the shortened week with a gain of 0.1 percent. DJIA statistics At the same time, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 31.97 points, or 1.3 percent, to finish the week at 2,493.37. Nasdaq statistics Hoffman said he believes the tech sector rally has enough momentum to last. He said his favorites in the sector are: EMC Corp. (EMC), Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Microsoft (MSFT). "I'm still very much a proponent of the technology sector," he said, adding he likes the financial-services stocks too "in this macroeconomic environment where we have slow growth and no inflationary pressures." In the financial-services sector, he said, shares of American International Group (AIG) and Citigroup (C)are positioned for growth, while healthcare stocks, including Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)and Medtronic (MDT) should continue to pull their weight. The markets Monday will likely respond to better-than-expected jobless data reported Friday. The Labor Department said the nation's unemployment rate plunged to its lowest level in 29 years last month, at the same time the number of jobs created fell to a three-year low. Despite the strong data, however, David Blitzer, chief economist with Standard & Poor's, told CNNfn he sees no cause for concern in short-term economic trends. "We continue to see absolutely superb unemployment rates and it tells us that the economy is in very good shape," he said. "The labor market is a bit tight but generally in good shape." Blitzer, a guest on CNNfn's In The Game program Friday noted "there's nothing here that really points to any near-term inflationary dangers." --by staff writer Shelly K. Schwartz David Blitzer, chief economist, Standard & Poor's home \| investing \| quicken.com on fn \| contents \| search \| sto