CLOSING WRAP-UP, Mar. 30
By Jody Osborne, Optionetics.com
3/30/2005 5:30 PM EST
Bulls finally hold onto gains, with the major market indices closing near their highs of the day. The Dow ($INDU) gained 135.23 points to close at 10,540.93. The S&P 500 ($SPX) ended the session at 1,181.41, which was a rise of 16.05 points. The Nasdaq ($COMPQ) finally closed above the 2K level at 2,005.67, up 31.79 points, or 1.61 percent. Volume was average with the NYSE trading 1.67 billion shares and the Naz trading 1.75 billion shares. Market breadth was extremely positive by a 25-to-8 and 21-to-9 ratio on the Big Board and Naz respectively.
Oil prices played a major role in how stocks traded this morning, with crude falling below $53 a barrel intraday. However, by the end of the session, oil was down just 24-cents to $53.99 a barrel. The weekly petroleum data showed that crude inventories rose by more than five million barrels and this pushed prices lower. Even gasoline prices saw a reprieve despite the fact gasoline levels fell once again.
One of the strongest sectors today was the chip sector with the Philly Semiconductor Index ($SOX) up 2.32 percent. The sector benefited from a strong earnings report from Micron (MU). Micron announced earnings that came in two-cents above estimates, leading to positive comments from several analysts. MU shares benefited as well, rising 3.56 percent.
The Dow was able to bounce off support even though shares of American International Group (AIG) fell 1.79 percent. The company suffered after announcing that its fourth-quarter earnings would be delayed even longer due to an investigation into its accounting. The stock rose Tuesday after hiring a new CEO.
In economic news, the final revision to fourth quarter GDP came in below expectations. Estimates were for growth to rise to 4.0 percent from the prior 3.8 percent growth announced prior. However, growth remained at 3.8 percent despite the fact inflation measures increased. This sent bond prices lower on worries that the Fed will accelerate their interest rate hikes. However, stocks were oversold and this helped push stock up.
Attention remains focused on Friday’s employment report and what the data has to say about inflation. Most notably, the change in the average hourly earnings component. Though the Naz had been trading below support for the past week, the Dow and SPX were able to use support to bounce higher today and this brought the Naz back above the 2K level.
Jody Osborne
Senior Staff Writer & Options Strategist
Optionetics.com ~ Your Options Education Site
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