Wall Street shares Close higher on quarter-end portfolio additions
NEW YORK (AFX) - Share prices on the DJIA and Nasdaq composite both managed to close higher on bargain-hunting and final first-quarter portfolio additions, dealers said. The DJIA closed up 79.72 points at 9,878.78, the S&P 500 index up 12.38 at 1,160.33, and the Nasdaq composite up 19.69 at 1,840.26. Dealers noted that despite modest gains on major indices on the last day of the first quarter, overall the DJIA fell 8.6 pct and the Nasdaq composite shed 25.1 pct during the period. The Nasdaq's first-quarter losses were the largest in history, and were triggered by a large number of technology profit warnings and weak earnings reports due to declining orders in the slowing U.S. economy. Dealers said throughout most of the Friday morning session, the DJIA was flat to modestly higher, while the Nasdaq was lower as investors expressed worries about the outlook for the U.S. economy. Morning stock prices also were dampened by unexpectedly weak data, including news that the Chicago PMI fell to 35.0 in March from 43.2 last year. In addition, the University of Michigan final March index was 91.5 compared with 91.8 in its preliminary reading. But bargain-hunters and porfolio managers late in the day decided to take advantage of the cheaply-priced stocks and managed to drive the market to a higher close. Traders cautioned that today's gains should not be viewed as indicating that the stock market is poised to post gains on Monday, when second-quarter trading begins. Ted Weisberg of Seaport Securities aid: "This (today's session) has been a last bit of window-dressing, but the big questions is where do we go from here?" "It's nice to get into a new quarter, and get this bad news behind us. But the Nasdaq composite appears poised to go lower again to retest the lows." Pacific, Gas & Electric closed down 17 cents at 12.45 usd after the company revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it will take a 4.1 bln usd fourth-quarter charge, and also warned that its stockholders' equity could fall below zero. The financial sector closed mostly higher after reports that Citigroup, up 0.28 at 44.98, may be interested in purchasing American Express, up 2.34 at 41.30. AIG, which closed up 2.39 at 80.50, and Morgan Stanley, which finished down 0.18 at 53.50, are also said to be interested in bidding for American Express. The semiconductor sector ended mostly lower after Micron Technology, which was down 3.72 at 41.53, issued first quarter results with loss per share of 1 cent, 2 cents narrower than expected. The company said gross margin in the first quarter dropped to 18 pct from 49. Applied Materials ended down 2-1/16 at 43-1/2 and Intel down 1/4 at 26-5/16. Tyson Food closed up 1.97 at 13.47, after deciding to pull out of its merger agreement with IBP following the latter's re-statement of its financials. IBP closed down 6.39 at 16.40 usd. Boeing closed down 0.24 usd at 55.71 usd after the company said it is starting a development project for a 250-seat aircraft traveling at 0.95 mach, or near-supersonic. The company claims such airplane will not increase the airline's costs. Hughes Electronics closed up 55 cents at 19.50 usd after the company's chairman Michael Smith described a reported offer for his company from News Corp as undervalued. News Corp closed up 30 cents at 31.40 usd.
Related stock : (NIL)