Stock indexes rise

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jun 8, 2001

NEW YORK (AP) -- A brighter earnings outlook from the semiconductor sector gave Wall Street some long-awaited good news Thursday, helping the market advance despite lingering doubts about the economy.

Investors took their time sorting out the pros and cons, keeping the major indexes bobbing most of the day. It wasn't until late afternoon that the market was able to put together a unified move forward. "This is gridlock. This is buyers and sellers meeting in the middle of the ring and no one delivering a knockout punch," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 20.50 at 11,090.74. The market's broader indicators also finished higher. The Nasdaq composite index rose 46.27 to 2,264.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6.93 to 1,276.96.

The Dow's gain was limited by Philip Morris, which fell $1.48 to $48.52. A Superior Court jury in Los Angeles said Wednesday the company must pay $3 billion to a cancer-stricken smoker, the largest judgment against a cigarette maker in a lawsuit brought by an individual.

But earnings are what's really key to investors, who have been bracing for the upcoming second-quarter results that will mostly be quite weak, Johnson said. Adding to investors' wariness is the growing belief that third-quarter results will be even worse and the uncertainty over whether business will improve by the end of the year.

"The market is looking for some sign that the profits recession is going to end -- some light at the end of the tunnel," Johnson said. "Nothing else matters."

Thursday's high point came from the semiconductor sector, after National Semiconductor reported it broke even in its fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts had expected the company to lose 3 cents a share. National Semiconductor rose $3.07 to $31.04. Semiconductor makers, whose chips are used in computer processors and telecommunications networking equipment, were also boosted by a healthy revenue outlook from the Semiconductor Industry Association, which said it foresees sales rising 20.5 percent next year. Chip maker Intel, a Dow stock, rose $1.34 to $31.16.