Star-Bulletin news services
Tech upgrades boost
market on light day
NEW YORK >> Brokerage upgrades of Oracle and Adobe Systems gave Wall Street a boost yesterday, with tech shares leading the gains and rebounding from heavy losses last week.
Volume was light as many investors refrained from major buying in advance of a Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates today and economic reports due out later this week on retail sales and the producer price index.
"The Oracle and Adobe upgrades helped create a bit of a snapback," said Michael Palazzi, managing director of equity trading at SG Cowen Securities. "But we really have to look at the economic data points and the companies reporting later this week to give us a gist of what's happening and trends for the second half of the year."
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 26.26, or 0.3 percent, at 9,217.35, following a weekly gain of 0.4 percent.
The broader market also finished higher. The Nasdaq composite index gained 17.48, or 1.1 percent, to 1,661.51, having declined 4.2 percent last week. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.00, or 0.3 percent, to 980.59, following a weekly loss of 0.3 percent.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners about 8 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was very light at 1.29 billion shares, compared with 1.36 billion traded Friday.
The Russell 2000 index, a barometer of smaller company stocks, rose 5.33, or 1.2 percent, to 459.27. The NYSE composite index gained 25.87 to 5,552.29. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 11.96 to 962.81.
Oracle gained 39 cents to $11.68 after Merrill Lynch upgraded the software company's stock rating to "buy" from "neutral," citing good valuation.
Adobe Systems climbed $1.48 to $33.26 after US Bancorp Piper Jaffray raised the graphics software maker's stock rating to "strong buy" from "outperform."
Trading has been uneven in recent weeks as investors sought more solid evidence that the economic recovery is firmly back on track. Many are hoping the Fed will offer some guidance on the economy when it meets today although it is widely expected to leave short-term interest rates unchanged.
"It's almost a foregone conclusion that the Fed will not act," Palazzi said. "People will wait to see what the Fed says about what the future holds, with the expectation that it's not going to raise rates anytime soon."
Sysco rose 91 cents to $30.48 after the food service marketing and distribution company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations.
Dow component 3M advanced $1.95 to $141.90 after the maker of Scotch-brand tapes, Post-it Notes and health care items announced a two-for-one stock split.
STOCK QUOTES/CHARTS/DATA
