NEW YORK >> Wall Street notched its longest winning streak in nearly three years today, as investors picked up shares before the deadline President Bush set for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to flee or face war. Longest winning streak
in three years for DowBy Hope Yen
Associated PressAnalysts said volume was somewhat light as many investors chose to see what happened once the 8 p.m. EST deadline passed. Tech shares, however, sagged on a cautious outlook from Oracle.
"There's a sense of relief that we now understand all the war variables for the first time in a month," said Brian Pears, head equity trader at Victory Capital Management. "We know there's a military solution. That euphoria won't last forever, but it certainly accounts for one of the best rallies in three years."
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 5 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was moderate.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 71.22, or 0.9 percent, at 8,265.45, for a six-day advance of 741 points. It was blue chip stocks' highest closing level since Jan. 23, when the Dow finished at 8,369.47.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.57, or 0.9 percent, to 874.02. The last time the Dow and S&P 500 saw six straight days of gains was August 2000.
A third key market indicator finished lower, however. The Nasdaq composite index fell 3.47, or 0.3 percent, to 1,397.08. But the Russell 2000 index rose 0.51, or 0.1 percent, to 368.51.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was down 5/8 point, while its yield rose to 3.98 percent from 3.91 percent late yesterday. Two-year Treasury notes fell 1/32 point to yield 1.71 percent, up from 1.68 percent yesterday.
Oracle dropped 94 cents to $11.31 after the software maker cautioned that profits may sag if the anticipated war isn't completed quickly. The news weighed on other tech companies, including Siebel Systems, which fell 53 cents to $8.79.
"We're used to Oracle being the cheerleader in the technology sector since it historically has given us relatively positive guidance," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "Yet their guidance was cloudy, so that didn't help."
Meanwhile, long columns of U.S. troops and armored vehicles advanced toward the Iraqi border. About 300,000 U.S. and British forces stood ready for attack as Iraq's government resisted Bush's ultimatum for Saddam to give up power.
Gainers included defense contractors General Dynamics, which climbed 67 cents to $58.42, and Northrop Grumman, which rose $1.29 to $87.45.
But Bayer fell $1.19 to $14.21, pulling back after a huge increase the day before. The company's U.S.-traded shares rose 37 percent yesterday after the drug maker was cleared of liability in the first lawsuit to go to trial accusing it of ignoring research linking the cholesterol-lowering drug Boycott to dozens of deaths.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 1.2 percent higher. In Europe, France's CAC-40 climbed 1.5 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.5 percent and Germany's DAX index rose 1.2 percent.
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