November 3rd 1999
The Nasdaq composite index closed above the psychologically significant 3000 level for the first time in history today buoyed by yesterday's news that inflation continues to remain subdued. The charge was lead by the technology sectors, especially the semiconductor stocks (SOX), which were up 4.58%. The Nasdaq closed up 46.88, (1.57%) to end at 3028.51 on volume of 1.3 billion shares traded. Today was the fourth record high session for the Nasdaq in a row. The Nasdaq first crossed the 2000 point level back on July 16, 1998. Meanwhile, the blue chips of the Dow can't seem to make much head way. The Dow was up by about 60 points at 3 p.m., then sagged back to close up only 27.22 points, (0.26%) at 10609.06. This was a mini-repeat of yesterday's trading. The S&P 500 advanced 7.19 points, (0.53%) to close at 1354.93. The 30-year US Treasury bond yield fell slightly to 6.131% from 6.136% Tuesday. Tomorrow, Wall Street will be watching the European Central Bank closely to see if they announce an interest rate hike. On Friday, the important employment data numbers come in. Strong employment growth combined with the increasing global cost of money might derail the rally. Likewise, weak employment growth and only a mild rate hike from the Europeans could spur the ongoing stock market rally to further highs. Apple continued its rally to a new record high closing at 81 1/2 up 1 1/4 or 1.56% on less than average volume. This marks the 3rd all-time high for Apple in the last 4 trading sessions. Bear Stearns analyst Andy Neff raised his 12-month price target on Apple shares to a range of 90 to 95, from 75 to 80 and reiterated Bear Stearns' buy rating. "We view Apple's near-term outlook with increasing confidence as it appears October sales and production are tracking in line with plan," Neff said today. "All four product lines are ramping production, demand remains strong, and we hear that G4 product availability is improving." Neff also said he is optimistic that Apple Internet strategy, which will be announced early next year, will further boost AAPL's price. In Apple related stocks Akamai (AKAM), on its fourth day of trading, gave back a bit to close at 190 7/8. Arm Holdings (ARMHY) extended its uptrend by 2 7/8 to 97. Oracle (ORCL) advanced another 4 5/16 to close at 57 5/16. Apple's Power PC partners were mixed, Motorola was up slightly while IBM closed down 7/16 to $94 3/8 . Adobe, Symantec and Pixar all closed higher. While Macromedia closed fractionally down. Apple's PC rivals had a good day too. Gateway, Dell, Compaq, Hewlett Packard and Intel all closed higher, only Microsoft weakened by 9/16 to close at 92. 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.
[4:00 PM] Apple Stock Watch: Nasdaq Closes Above 3000 and Another All Time High for Apple.
by Wes George