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Dow Crosses 11,000 for 1st Time Since 2001
CHRISTOPHER WANG, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK - The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 11,000 Monday for the first time since before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, buoyed by a rally that has sent stock prices soaring through the first five sessions of 2006.
Wall Street's best known stock indicator reached 11,003.50 shortly after 1 p.m. EST, the first time since June 13, 2001, that the index of 30 blue chip stocks traded above that milestone. It last closed above 11,000 on June 7, 2001, when it stood at 11,090.74.
Monday's advance following a 241-point surge last week as investors grew increasingly optimistic that the Federal Reserve will soon end its string of interest rate hikes. The Dow came within 16 points of 11,000 last March 7, but fell back amid worries about inflation and higher oil prices, concerns that dogged the market for much of 2005.
The blue chips are still more than 6 percent below their all-time high of 11,722.98, reached Jan. 14, 2000, as the high-tech boom approached its peak, but they have recovered well from their low of 7,286.27, reached on Oct. 9, 2002, while the nation wrestled with an economic slowdown spurred by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon the year before.
The markets rebounded strongly in 2003, then posted modest gains in 2004. The Dow ended 2005 with a slight loss while the other major indexes edged higher; every time stocks made a significant advance last year, concerns about the impact of record high oil and gasoline prices on inflation, consumer spending and corporate profits sent the market retreating.
But investors' mood changed radically last week with the release of minutes from the Fed's last policy-making meeting, during which the Open Market Committee signaled that its streak of rate hikes dating back to the summer of 2004 would soon end.
Investment firms' upgrades of Dow components General Motors Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. gave the Dow the final push above 11,000 Monday.
In early afternoon trading, the Dow gained 41.23, or 0.38 percent, to 11,000.54.
Broader stock indicators were at their highest levels since May 2001. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2.32, or 0.18 percent, to 1,287.77, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 11.09, or 0.48 percent, to 2,316.71.
Bonds fell slightly, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.38 percent from 4.37 percent Friday. The dollar was higher against most major currencies, while gold prices rebounded.
Crude oil and natural gas futures headed lower amid mild winter weather across the country. A barrel of light crude lost 86 cents to $63.35 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where natural gas slipped 32 cents to $9.31 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Goldman Sachs analysts raised GM one notch to "in-line," saying the a bankruptcy filing at the world's biggest automaker is "very unlikely anytime soon," and that upcoming catalysts could improve investor sentiment. GM jumped $1.05 to $21.85.
JPMorgan Chase was up 51 cents at $40.53 after its upgrade by Prudential Equity Group.
Duke Energy Corp. agreed to sell much of its North American wholesale power generation assets to LS Power Equity Partners for about $1.48 billion, which could rise to as much as $1.54 billion if certain targets are met. The energy company is shedding its plants in the western and northeastern states, but will keep its Midwest facilities. Duke was off 2 cents at $27.77.
Boston Scientific Corp. on Sunday reiterated a $25 billion bid for medical device rival Guidant Corp., but the offer now includes a deal to sell Guidant's vascular intervention and endovascular businesses to Abbott Laboratories Inc. Johnson & Johnson is also seeking to buy Guidant for $21.5 billion. Boston Scientific fell 44 cents to $25.80, while Guidant added $1.62 to $68.97, Abbott gained 92 cents to $41.81 and J&J rose 15 cents at $62.75.
Texas Instruments Inc. said it is selling its sensors and controls business to Bain Capital LLC for $3 billion, and instead will shift its focus to digital signal processing and analog chips. Texas Instruments sank 28 cents to $34.17.
The tech sector's gains were muted somewhat after JPMorgan cut its ratings on International Business Machines Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. Analysts lowered IBM one notch to "neutral," saying potential growth is already reflected in its stock price but that several risk factors in services and hardware are not yet being considered.
JPMorgan also said it expects Amazon.com's growth will lag the broader U.S. e-commerce market, and cut the stock to "underweight." IBM fell $1.16 to $83.79, and Amazon.com dropped $1.07 to $46.80.
Advancing issues topped decliners by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume of 862.9 million shares lagged the 914.8 million shares changing hands at the same point Friday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies advanced 6.16, or 0.88 percent, to 705.55.
Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.01 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.01 percent, and France's CAC-40 was higher by 0.16 percent. Japan's stock market was closed Monday for a national holiday.
Dow Crosses 11,000 for 1st Time Since 2001
CHRISTOPHER WANG, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK - The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 11,000 Monday for the first time since before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, buoyed by a rally that has sent stock prices soaring through the first five sessions of 2006.
Wall Street's best known stock indicator reached 11,003.50 shortly after 1 p.m. EST, the first time since June 13, 2001, that the index of 30 blue chip stocks traded above that milestone. It last closed above 11,000 on June 7, 2001, when it stood at 11,090.74.
Monday's advance following a 241-point surge last week as investors grew increasingly optimistic that the Federal Reserve will soon end its string of interest rate hikes. The Dow came within 16 points of 11,000 last March 7, but fell back amid worries about inflation and higher oil prices, concerns that dogged the market for much of 2005.
The blue chips are still more than 6 percent below their all-time high of 11,722.98, reached Jan. 14, 2000, as the high-tech boom approached its peak, but they have recovered well from their low of 7,286.27, reached on Oct. 9, 2002, while the nation wrestled with an economic slowdown spurred by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon the year before.
The markets rebounded strongly in 2003, then posted modest gains in 2004. The Dow ended 2005 with a slight loss while the other major indexes edged higher; every time stocks made a significant advance last year, concerns about the impact of record high oil and gasoline prices on inflation, consumer spending and corporate profits sent the market retreating.
But investors' mood changed radically last week with the release of minutes from the Fed's last policy-making meeting, during which the Open Market Committee signaled that its streak of rate hikes dating back to the summer of 2004 would soon end.
Investment firms' upgrades of Dow components General Motors Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. gave the Dow the final push above 11,000 Monday.
In early afternoon trading, the Dow gained 41.23, or 0.38 percent, to 11,000.54.
Broader stock indicators were at their highest levels since May 2001. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2.32, or 0.18 percent, to 1,287.77, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 11.09, or 0.48 percent, to 2,316.71.
Bonds fell slightly, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.38 percent from 4.37 percent Friday. The dollar was higher against most major currencies, while gold prices rebounded.
Crude oil and natural gas futures headed lower amid mild winter weather across the country. A barrel of light crude lost 86 cents to $63.35 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where natural gas slipped 32 cents to $9.31 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Goldman Sachs analysts raised GM one notch to "in-line," saying the a bankruptcy filing at the world's biggest automaker is "very unlikely anytime soon," and that upcoming catalysts could improve investor sentiment. GM jumped $1.05 to $21.85.
JPMorgan Chase was up 51 cents at $40.53 after its upgrade by Prudential Equity Group.
Duke Energy Corp. agreed to sell much of its North American wholesale power generation assets to LS Power Equity Partners for about $1.48 billion, which could rise to as much as $1.54 billion if certain targets are met. The energy company is shedding its plants in the western and northeastern states, but will keep its Midwest facilities. Duke was off 2 cents at $27.77.
Boston Scientific Corp. on Sunday reiterated a $25 billion bid for medical device rival Guidant Corp., but the offer now includes a deal to sell Guidant's vascular intervention and endovascular businesses to Abbott Laboratories Inc. Johnson & Johnson is also seeking to buy Guidant for $21.5 billion. Boston Scientific fell 44 cents to $25.80, while Guidant added $1.62 to $68.97, Abbott gained 92 cents to $41.81 and J&J rose 15 cents at $62.75.
Texas Instruments Inc. said it is selling its sensors and controls business to Bain Capital LLC for $3 billion, and instead will shift its focus to digital signal processing and analog chips. Texas Instruments sank 28 cents to $34.17.
The tech sector's gains were muted somewhat after JPMorgan cut its ratings on International Business Machines Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. Analysts lowered IBM one notch to "neutral," saying potential growth is already reflected in its stock price but that several risk factors in services and hardware are not yet being considered.
JPMorgan also said it expects Amazon.com's growth will lag the broader U.S. e-commerce market, and cut the stock to "underweight." IBM fell $1.16 to $83.79, and Amazon.com dropped $1.07 to $46.80.
Advancing issues topped decliners by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume of 862.9 million shares lagged the 914.8 million shares changing hands at the same point Friday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies advanced 6.16, or 0.88 percent, to 705.55.
Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.01 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.01 percent, and France's CAC-40 was higher by 0.16 percent. Japan's stock market was closed Monday for a national holiday.
