Star-Bulletin news services
Stronger dollar ignites
Nasdaq in holiday rally
NEW YORK >> The Nasdaq composite index notched its best advance in nearly five months yesterday as a recovery in the dollar motivated investors to pick up shares following two weeks of declines.
The Dow Jones industrials climbed 119 points, their best gain in a month, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index had its strongest advance in nearly two months.
"The stronger dollar is helping out," said Peter Cardillo, president and chief strategist of Global Partner Securities Inc. "We had a rather sloppy week last week ... and traditionally the week of Thanksgiving is usually a positive week for stocks."
"With the dollar improving and a slew of economic numbers coming out later this week, I suspect the market is playing catch-up," he said.
The Nasdaq gained 53.26, or 2.8 percent, to 1,947.14, following a weekly loss of 1.9 percent. It was the largest advance since July 7, when the tech-focused average surged 57.25 points.
The Dow closed up 119.26, or 1.2 percent, at 9,747.79, having fallen 1.4 percent in the previous week. It was the biggest point gain for the blue-chip average since Oct. 28, when the Dow rose 140.15.
And the S&P 500 index rose 16.80, or 1.6 percent, to 1,052.08 following a decline of 1.4 percent. It was the best gain since Oct. 1, when the average rose 22.25.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners about 10 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was light at 1.67 billion shares, but higher than the 1.56 billion traded Friday.
The Russell 2000 index, a barometer of smaller company stocks, rose 13.58, or 2.6 percent, to 539.51.
The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 73.77, or 1.2 percent, to 6,016.09. The American Stock Exchange composite index gained 5.87, or 0.6 percent, to 1,072.15.
The Treasury's two-year note fell 4/32 to 99 16/32, with its yield rising 7 basis points to 1.89 percent. The 10-year note dropped 17/32 to 100 6/32, with its yield gaining 7 basis points to 4.23 percent.
The market has fallen in recent weeks as investors grappled with fears about a weakening dollar and concerns that stock prices might be a bit high. Last week, the dollar slid to a new low against the euro, raising worries of dampened foreign investment in the United States.
Yesterday, the euro was quoted at $1.1770, down from $1.1915 late Friday. The dollar was quoted at 109.43 Japanese yen, up from 108.80 yen late Friday.
Boston Scientific Corp. climbed $1.79 to $35.70 after Johnson & Johnson lost a court bid to keep the company's new stent off the market.
Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 82 cents to $12.25 after the company said Leo F. Mullin will retire Jan. 1 as chairman and chief executive. Gerald Grinstein, a 16-year member of the board, will replace Mullin as CEO; John F. Smith Jr. the presiding director of Delta's board, will become nonexecutive chairman.
STOCK QUOTES/CHARTS/DATA
