November 16th 1999
A cautious Federal Reserve raised Fed fund and discount rates 25 basis points and adopted a neutral stance. Interest rate hikes are usually not good news on Wall Street, but this bull market responded with a strong continuation of the ongoing rally. The Fed also warned, "the economy is growing at an unsustainable rate." The Nasdaq roared to a new all time high, up 73.53 points (2.28%) to close at 3293.07 on another record volume day with 1.39 billion shares traded. The Nasdaq is now up 50% year to date. The Dow advanced by 171.58 points (1.59%) to close at 10932.33 The S&P 500 also hit a new record high today, up 25.64 points (1.84%) to close at 1420.03. On Wednesday, Wall Street will be watching for the new housing starts number and the important Consumer Price Index for October. Apple received a boost today from ABN AMRO analyst Jonathan Ross who initiated coverage on Apple with an outperform rating and a one year price target of $155. Mr. Ross said, "We believe no PC maker is better positioned with consumers to take advantage of large opportunities in the emerging device and home networking markets." Apple rose 1 3/4 to close at 91 3/16 on less than half the normal volume. Tomorrow, Hewlett Packard announces 4th quarter earnings after the bell. Analyst will be looking for $0.73 per share with a 9% revenue growth. Apple related stocks, Adobe, Symantec, and Akamai rode the wave higher, while Macromedia declined fractionally. Apple's Power PC partners, IBM and Motorola, both ended the day higher. Dell, Microsoft, Intel, Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard all closed higher. Gateway was the only major PC manufacturer to close in negative territory. For full quotes on all the companies mentioned in this article, we have assembled this set of quotes at Yahoo! for your reference. We also have many of these same quotes reported live (20 minute delay) on our home page. For other stories regarding Apple's stock activity, visit our Apple Stock Watch Special Report. The Mac Observer Spin: Go figure, the Fed raises rates and stocks close at all time highs. Analysts have speculated that many traders were just relieved that the rate hike was no longer an unknown issue.
[3:45 PM] The Apple Stock Watch: Stocks Soar After The Fed Hikes Interest Rates, Apple Rises to 91 3/16
by Wes George