NEW YORK >> The Nasdaq composite index rose today for the third time in four sessions as U.S. stocks finished their best month in almost a decade. Stocks post best month
Star-Bulletin news services
in nearly 10 yearsCisco Systems Inc., JDS Uniphase Corp. and Ciena Corp. gained, lifting the Nasdaq 40.68 or 2 percent, to 2,116.36.
The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index, the broadest gauge of U.S. shares, advanced 8.1 percent in April, its biggest monthly climb since December 1991. It eked out a gain of 3.62 today to 11,512.46.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 75.08 to 10,734.97, retreating from a morning gain of 95 points and sliding back into negative territory for the year at a minus 0.48 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 3.58 to 1,249.47.
For the month, the Nasdaq gained 15 percent, the Dow advanced 8.7 percent and the S&P 500 rose 7.7 percent. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are now down 14.3 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, for the year.
Advancers outnumbered decliners about 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,702 up, 1,367 down and 214 unchanged. Volume was 1.4 billion vs. 1.09 billion on Friday.
The NYSE composite index fell 2.81 to 634.83, the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 2.93 to 951.78 and the Russell 2000 index advanced 1.36 to 485.33. The Treasury's 10-year note fell 18 to 971332; its yield rose 2 basis points to 5.34 percent. The 30-year bond rose 532 to 94632; its yield fell 1 basis point to 5.79 percent.
The day opened with growing enthusiasm over a report on Friday revealing that the nation's gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2 percent in the first quarter.
But some investors, ever wary after the hefty losses they've suffered over the past year, chose to lock in some of April's hefty gains before the market's confidence has a chance to wane. Notably, the Nasdaq composite has risen nearly 29 percent from its closing low for the year, 1,638.80, reached less than a month ago on April 4.
Analysts pointed out that the pullback had been expected and that the market has rebounded considerably from the first quarter, one of the worst in decades after most of the country's biggest companies warned of shrinking profits.
"Overall, April was a surprisingly good month in the market. The last few hours of the last session of the month saw some profit taking, but on balance it was a good month with all the averages (ending) higher," said Alan Ackerman, executive vice president of Fahnestock & Co. "There's lots to be grateful for."
Grateful investors embraced the GDP data for helping to provide some reassurance for those who only recently began buying again following a litany of earnings disappointments from major companies. Analysts are now saying earnings for the year likely won't be as bad as expected.
"It really points to the fact that we are not in a recession," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "The camp of folks saying that we were in a recession in the first quarter was getting larger. To get proof that it is a soft landing vs. a hard landing is really what is bolstering the market."