Apple's Stock Begins 2001 Where It Left Off In 2000

The Nasdaq furthered the losses sustained on Friday as a report from the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM) suggested that falling corporate losses will continue this year. While this fueled further hopes that the Fed would be lowering interest rates, the short term affect was another 178 point loss by the Nasdaq. Appleis stock lurched forward to nowhere, starting off the new year, century, and millennium where it left off the last.

According to CBS Marketwatch:

Recent data, including Tuesdayis National Association of Purchasing Management snapshot on the manufacturing sector, indicate that credit is too restrictive as the economy slows more than was anticipated by the policy-setting panel at the Fed.

The December NAPM Index came in at 43.7, its lowest point since April 1991, one month after the United States pulled out of its last recession. A poll of economists looked for a reading at 46.9 percent after 47.7 percent in November. Any reading below 50 signals a contraction in factory business. The NAPM index has registered below 50 since August. Read full story.

The next Fed meeting is set for January 31st, though there is a small chance that an earlier meeting could be convened. Such an unscheduled meeting is highly unusual.

Appleis stock sat stock still at 14 7/8 on higher than normal volume of 8,077,000 shares. In the face of downward pressure across the board, Appleis stock benefitted from news that Apple had lowered prices at The Apple Store on a number of products. News of the price cuts swept the Mac Web and the mainstream media alike, including TV outlets.

The Nasdaq also suffered from profit concerns as it closed at 10646.15, lower by 140.70 (-1.30%).

The Dow gave back early day gains to settle lower by 80 points (-0.74%) at 10787 on volume of 1.03 billion shares. The Dow lost 6% for the year.

The S&P 500 also shaved off another 2.8% as it closed at 1283.27, down 37.01 (-2.80%).

Akamai fell 1 5/16 (-6.23%) to close at 19 3/4 as it put out a call for stable investors to meet the needs of the future. The companyis stock was also downgraded from a Strong Buy to a Buy by Thomas Weisel.

Adobe took a blow to the gut, closing at 46 47/64, down 11 29/64, or a whopping 19.68%, on volume of 8,406,200 shares trading hands. The company was affected with other large software developers on the fear that corporate infrastructure spending would be lower this year.

IBM shared the stability enjoyed by Apple as it closed at 84 13/16, down a mere 3/16 ( -0.22%).

Motorola also stood still, ending the day at 20 1/4 0, unchanged from Fridayis close, on volume of 8,159,100 shares trading hands.

Earthlink bucked the downward trend today by closing higher at 5 5/16, a gain of 9/32 (+5.59%) on average volume of 1,658,000.

Gateway lost 17.25, or 0.74 (-4.11%) on light volume of 1,943,200 shares trading hands.

Dellis also defied the trend today by closing slightly higher at 17 1/2, a small gain of 1/16 (+0.36%) on lower than average volume of 28,728,800.

Hewlett Packard fell shaved off another 4%, closing at 30 1/4, down 1 5/16 (-4.16%) on volume of 6,821,000 shares trading hands.

Intel gained a point today as it entered the consumer MP3 playback business. The company released the Pocket Concert (a disturbingly bad name) to a mixed reaction from analysts. The stock closed at 31 1/16, up 1 point (+3.33%) on volume of 50,342,900 shares trading hands.

Microsoft completes our list of unmoving stocks, bucking the trend from other large software companies, as it closed at 43 3/8, unchanged, on volume of 41,206,700 shares trading hands.

For full quotes on all the companies mentioned in this article, we have assembled this set of quotes at Yahoo! for your reference. For other stories regarding Appleis stock activity, visit our updated Apple Stock Watch Special Report.