November 2nd 1999
The Nasdaq composite index busted through the 3000 level for the first time in history this morning on a wave of buying in the technology sectors, especially chip equipment and semiconductor stocks. But it didn't stick, and the Nasdaq closed up only 13.95, (0.47%) to end at 2981.60 on volume of 1.2 billion shares traded. Today was the third record high session for the Nasdaq in a row. The Dow moved ahead by about 100 points earlier in the day, but gave it all back by the end of the session to close down 66.67 points, (0.63%) at 10581.84 on a volume of 890 million shares. The abrupt topping off of the Dow and subsequent decline may be in part due to J P Morgan's prediction, released midday, that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates 3 more times through June 2000. The S&P 500 closed down 6.38 points, (0.47%) to close at 1347.74. The bond market continued its rally today as the 30-year US Treasury bond close up 17/32, while the yield fell to 6.136% from 6.17% Monday. Apple rebound strongly after yesterday's sell off to a new intraday high of 81.11/16 then drew back, closing at 80 1/4 up 2 5/8 or 3.38% on less than average volume. This represents another all-time closing high for the company in the last 3 trading sessions. There was no single news item to explain Apple's strong performance today. Apple's price to book value has grown substantially in the last few days due to their position in Akamai and Arm Holdings. Apple also recently announced that they expect a 71% quarter over quarter growth in unit sales this Christmas season. Other investors could be optimistic that Apple's planned acquisition of Raycer Graphics, a graphics chip designer, may bode favorably for the future of Apple's professional line of computers. In Apple related stocks, Akamai (AKAM) on its third day of trading is up yet again by 18 7/16 to close at 192 3/4. Yesterday Akamai was up 23 points after gaining 458% on Friday, which was AKAM's first day on the Nasdaq. Arm Holdings (ARMHY) also extended its uptrend by 2 9/16 to 94 1/8. Apple's Power PC partners were mixed, Motorola was up slightly while IBM closed down 1 7/8 to 94 7/8. Adobe, Macromedia and Symantec all closed lower. Apple's PC rivals had a mixed day too. Compaq and Hewlett Packard slid lower, while Gateway, Dell, Intel and Microsoft all closed up. Oracle (ORCL) advanced 1 13/16 to close at 53. Oracle announced it is teaming with Ford Motors (F) to build a multi-billion dollar Internet venture. 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.
[4:40 PM] Apple Stock Watch: Markets Rally then Fade, Apple Closes Up 2 5/8 To Another All-Time High
by Wes George