Wall Street Stocks End Mostly Higher Amid Tech Sector Gains

Strategic Insights -

Wall Street stocks ended mostly higher Thursday as investors flocked to tech sector leaders, boosting the Nasdaq composite index by 48.33 to 3,845.74. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.87 to 10,714.82, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 8.19 to 1,478.73. The market's rally was led by a report that Lucent Technologies will spin off its microelectronics unit, potentially valuing the deal at $50 billion.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Nasdaq composite index closed up 48.33 at 3,845.74, marking a significant gain in the tech sector.
  • The Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.87 to 10,714.82, with broad-based gains across the market.
  • Lucent Technologies' planned spin-off of its microelectronics unit, valued at approximately $50 billion, was a key driver of the market's rally.
  • Tech sector leaders, including Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft, and International Business Machines, all rose in response to the Lucent report.
  • The gains in the tech sector lifted most indexes, including the Nasdaq composite index, higher.
  • The financial stocks declined, with Wachovia Corp. warning investors of higher interest rates and lower profits in the second quarter and year.

Statistics:

  • The Nasdaq composite index closed up 48.33 to 3,845.74.
  • The Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.87 to 10,714.82.
  • The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 8.19 to 1,478.73.
  • Lucent Technologies' planned spin-off of its microelectronics unit is valued at approximately $50 billion.
  • NYSE volume increased to 988.73 million shares from 925.04 million in the previous session.
  • Declining issues accounted for 1,492 out of 4,514 total issues on the New York Stock Exchange, while advancers totaled 1,422.

Sources:

  • XINHUA (no date specified)
  • COMTEX (http://www.comtexnews.com)