Star-Bulletin news services
Stocks fall, but Nasdaq
and S&P gain for week
NEW YORK >> The Nasdaq composite posted a fifth straight week of gains -- its longest streak since December 2001 -- on a day of modest declines today, when investors played it safe and cashed in their profits.
Analysts said a pair of downbeat government reports stirred some concerns of a tepid economic recovery, while a disappointing outlook from Dell weighed on tech shares. Still, investor optimism remained high, helping to limit today's losses.
"We've had a great run since the end of the war and I'm astounded how the market has held these gains," said Steve Kolano, an equity trader at The Boston Co. Asset Management.
"Investors are ready to turn the corner," he added. "But I am getting a little concerned that this rally is a bit overdone. We haven't seen hard evidence yet the economy is ready to turn."
The Nasdaq closed down 12.85, or 0.8 percent, to 1,538.53. The S&P declined 2.37, or 0.3 percent, to 944.30.
Blue chips also finished lower. The Dow fell 34.17, or 0.4 percent, at 8,678.97, having gained 65 points the previous session.
For the week, all three main gauges finished higher, with the Dow up 0.9 percent, the Nasdaq higher 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 up 1.2 percent. It was the fifth winning week for the S&P 500, its best performance since August 2002. The Dow posted a third week of gains, a feat not seen since November 2002.
Declining issues narrowly outnumbered advancers on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was moderate.
The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller company stocks, fell 7.33, or 1.7 percent, to 414.72. The NYSE composite index gained 9.15 to 5,321.70. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 2.89 to 892.66.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was up 27/32 point, while its yield fell to 3.43 percent from 3.53 percent yesterday. Two-year Treasury notes were up 7/32 point and yielded 1.31 percent, down from 1.44 percent yesterday.
Today, Dell fell 99 cents to $31.19 after the computer maker reported quarterly profits that met analysts' expectations; however, it also said it does not expect a major turnaround in the tech market and a Smith Barney analyst downgraded the company's stock, citing overvaluation.
"Dell's numbers didn't blow anything out of the water," said Russ Koesterich, U.S. equity strategist at State Street Corp. "The growth isn't really coming from significant revenue growth, but from cost-cutting. For the market to go really higher, we need to see that companies like Dell can grow the top line."
General Motors lost 47 cents to $34.41 after Prudential Financial cut the automaker's stock rating to "sell" from "hold," citing the company's declining market share.
Gainers included AT&T, which rose 68 cents to $18.12.
And Kohl's rose 38 cents to $53.40 after the retailer posted quarterly earnings that were in line with Wall Street estimates.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 0.1 percent lower Friday. In Europe, France's CAC-40 lost 0.04 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.9 percent and Germany's DAX index slipped 0.01 percent.
STOCK QUOTES/CHARTS/DATA
