A Record Close For The Nasdaq
Most stocks fell Monday in sleepy holiday-season trading, although it was business as usual in the red-hot Internet group, which drove the Nasdaq market to another new high.
The Dow Jones industrial average barely finished higher, rising 8.76 points to 9,226.75, but extended its winning streak to seven sessions. The Dow has gained 436 points in that time, and now sits 150 points from the Nov. 23 record of 9,374.27.Decliners outnumbered advancers in the lifeless session as many investors stayed home for an extended holiday break.
In fact, with just a few days left before the close of such a difficult year, those who did show up for work were playing it cautiously to preserve what's shaped up as a surprisingly happy ending.
Less than three months ago, the Dow was trading in the 7,000s and showing a loss for the year. Now, the Dow is up 16.7 percent in 1998, the S&P 500 is up 26.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite index is up 38.8 percent.
Internet stocks soared yet again amid reports that online holiday shopping was even more robust than expected.SkyMall surged as the most active Nasdaq issue after the in-flight retailer reported that Internet sles have more than tripled in the fourth quarter to $1 million, up from $300,000 a year ago.
Among other Nasdaq Internet names, Yahoo! and Amazon.com also rallied. America Online also shot higher as the most active issue on the New York Stock Exchange.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.6 percent. Germany's DAX index rose 1.9 percent, Britain's FT-SE 100 fell 0.7 percent, and France's CAC-40 finished a shade higher.
Among the companies in the news:
- Shares of SPX tacked on 3 1/8 to 66 3/16 after the auto parts maker said it will cut 1,000 jobs and take a pre-tax charge of $210 million to $250 million in the fourth quarter as it integrates the operations of General Signal. SPX, based in Muskegon, Mich., agreed to acquire General Signal for about $2 billion in July.
- Ziff-Davis fell 2 3/4 to 18. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter lowered its rating of Ziff-Davis to "neutral" from "outperform," Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing a source at the firm. The stock rose sharply last week amid news of the publisher's plan to spin off its online unit in a public offering.
- SkyMall rocketed 23 to 35 9/16. The Phoenix-based company expects to report fiscal 1998 Internet sales of $2.1 million, up 600 percent from 1997 sales of $300,000. The in-flight catalog retailer said fourth-quarter Internet sales have tripled to $1 million from $300,000 a year ago.
- ETrade Group added 11 3/4 to 56 3/4. The online brokerage reported that 500,000 people had signed up as members since it relaunched its Destination ETrade Web site in September. A member can access research and investment tools on the Web site but needs to register separately to open an account and trade stocks. ETrade didn't release customer account figures for the quarter.
- PC Connection put on 4 3/8 to 26 5/8. The direct marketer of computer hardware and software expects fourth-quarter Internet sales to be at least double or triple year-ago levels, President Wayne Wilson said in an interview on CNBC.
- Active Apparel Group rose 5 3/4 to 7. The clothing retailer launched a Web site that will also appear on Fashionmall.com. The Web site will initially promote Everlast activewear for women, expanding to the men's line in the first quarter, and swimwear in early spring.