Bill Barnhart
Most stocks closed higher Monday. But a late-session sell-off prevented another record high close for the Dow Jones industrial average and left the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index just shy of its all-time high, set in March 2000.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 13.65 points, to 13,542.88, after trading as high as 13,586 earlier in the day. Losses by International Business Machines and Alcoa helped account for the Dow's decline. Hewlett-Packard and Merck paced Dow winners.
The S&P 500 index added 2.35, to 1525.10, just short of its all-time closing high of 1527.46 set March 24, 2000. During Monday's session, the benchmark index reached 1529.
The biggest sector gains since the 2000 S&P 500 peak have been scored by energy and materials companies, while information-technology and telecommunications stocks hold well under water.
The Russell 1000 and 3000 indexes reached all-time highs.
Energy stocks, including Dow component Exxon Mobil, rallied Monday, along with crude oil futures. Crude oil for June delivery jumped $1.33 a barrel, to $66.27. Traders cited unrest in Nigeria, an important source of oil for the world market.
Among stocks in the news, home-improvement retailer Lowe's dropped more than 2 percent, reflecting disappointing quarterly results and a downbeat outlook by company officials.
Merger-and-acquisition news continued to animate trading. Two investment firms agreed to acquire wireless network operator Alltel. Alltel shares rose nearly 7 percent.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange technology stocks index reached a multiyear high, thanks to gains by Apple and Hewlett-Packard. Ama zon.com was the biggest percentage gainer in the S&P 500.
Treasury securities advanced. The weekly auction of 3-month Treasury bills appeared to attract strong bidding from non-U.S. investors.
TREASURY AUCTIONS: Interest rates rose at Monday's Treasury bill auctions. The discount rate on 3-month bills was 4.77 percent, up from 4.73 percent last week. The rate on 6-month bills was 4.10 percent, up from 4.73 percent last week.
The coupon-equivalent investment rates were 4.91 percent for 3-month bills and 5.01 percent for 6-month bills. [via]
Most stocks closed higher Monday. But a late-session sell-off prevented another record high close for the Dow Jones industrial average and left the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index just shy of its all-time high, set in March 2000.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 13.65 points, to 13,542.88, after trading as high as 13,586 earlier in the day. Losses by International Business Machines and Alcoa helped account for the Dow's decline. Hewlett-Packard and Merck paced Dow winners.
The S&P 500 index added 2.35, to 1525.10, just short of its all-time closing high of 1527.46 set March 24, 2000. During Monday's session, the benchmark index reached 1529.
The biggest sector gains since the 2000 S&P 500 peak have been scored by energy and materials companies, while information-technology and telecommunications stocks hold well under water.
The Russell 1000 and 3000 indexes reached all-time highs.
Energy stocks, including Dow component Exxon Mobil, rallied Monday, along with crude oil futures. Crude oil for June delivery jumped $1.33 a barrel, to $66.27. Traders cited unrest in Nigeria, an important source of oil for the world market.
Among stocks in the news, home-improvement retailer Lowe's dropped more than 2 percent, reflecting disappointing quarterly results and a downbeat outlook by company officials.
Merger-and-acquisition news continued to animate trading. Two investment firms agreed to acquire wireless network operator Alltel. Alltel shares rose nearly 7 percent.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange technology stocks index reached a multiyear high, thanks to gains by Apple and Hewlett-Packard. Ama zon.com was the biggest percentage gainer in the S&P 500.
Treasury securities advanced. The weekly auction of 3-month Treasury bills appeared to attract strong bidding from non-U.S. investors.
TREASURY AUCTIONS: Interest rates rose at Monday's Treasury bill auctions. The discount rate on 3-month bills was 4.77 percent, up from 4.73 percent last week. The rate on 6-month bills was 4.10 percent, up from 4.73 percent last week.
The coupon-equivalent investment rates were 4.91 percent for 3-month bills and 5.01 percent for 6-month bills. [via]
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