[The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition][Money & Investing Front]

[The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition]

[Table of Contents] Friday, April 11, 1997

Technology Slump

Sparks a Sell-Off

In Broader Market

By SUZANNE MCGEE

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

NEW YORK -- Stock

prices sank Thursday as a

sell-off in technology

stocks spread to the

broader market during the

final hour of trading.

In another day of

thin trading volume ahead

of Friday's producer-price

and retail-sales data, the

Dow Jones Industrial

Average fell 23.79, or

0.36%, to 6540.05. The

Standard & Poor's

500-stock index fell 2.26,

or 0.30%, to 758.34, while

the Nasdaq Composite Index

fell 13.66, or 1.09%, to

1235.77, reflecting

tech-sector turmoil.

With Intel expected

to report first-quarter

earnings Monday,

uneasiness about its

profitability haunts the

entire group. Investors

were rattled Thursday when

a "whisper" earnings

estimate for Intel of

$2.15 to $2.20 a share for

the quarter began making

the rounds of trading

floors on Wall Street.

Even though most traders

and investors readily

acknowledged it was

unlikely Intel would hit

that target, well above

the consensus estimate of

$2.06 a share, traders

nevertheless dumped the

stock rather than risk

being hit by a sell-off

Monday by "disappointed"

investors. Intel plunged 5

to close at 137 1/4.

Indeed, the release

of better-than-expected

earnings by a string of

technology companies

ranging from Advanced

Micro Devices to Yahoo!

has failed to boost their

stock prices. Scott

Fullman, options

strategist at Swiss

American Securities, says

he is urging clients to

protect core holdings with

put options ahead of

earnings releases due to

the surge in unusual

"whisper" estimates and

sell-offs even following

unexpectedly strong

earnings.

World-wide, stocks

fell in dollar terms. The

Dow Jones World Stock

Index was at 144.50, down

0.36.

In major market

action:

Stock prices fell. On

the Big Board, volume

stood at 421.8 million

shares, with 1,347 stocks

lower and 1,117 higher.

Bonds were mostly

lower. The 30-year

bellwether Treasury bond

unchanged. Its yield stood

at 7.10%.

The dollar eased. In

New York, the dollar was

at 125.85 yen and 1.7199

marks, compared with

126.85 yen and 1.7259

marks late Wednesday.

[Column 2 of Money & Investing Front]

Stock-Fund Investors

Are Jumping Back In

Mutual-fund

investors

increased their purchases of

stock funds in the past few

days after holding back or

redeeming fund shares during

the market tumble that began

in late March.

[Your Money Matters]

Ideas for Handling

'Grayer' Tax Laws

The gray areas of the

tax law can be a real

boon for some honest people

looking for legitimate ways to

cut their tax bills -- as long

as they are prepared to face

the glare if the Internal

Revenue Service spotlights

their returns.

Weimar Bonds

Prove Resilient

Gold-backed "Weimar

bonds," from a

long-dead regime that fueled

the rise of Adolf Hitler, are

proving remarkably resilient

-- even though the German

government says that most of

the bonds are worthless.

Analysts Picture Gains

Ahead for HDTV Stocks

News that some TV

stations agreed to

begin beaming digital signals

by October 1998 has caused a

sudden surge of interest in

stocks of companies that make

digital-TV products. But

analysts warn those buying the

stocks now are taking a risk.

J.P. Morgan, First Union

Post Strong Net Incomes

J.P. Morgan and First

Union posted quarterly

earnings that were slightly

ahead of expectations.

Tapewatch Update

March producer prices

slipped 0.1%, compared with

expectations of no change. The

PPI fell an unrevised 0.4% in

February. March retail sales,

meanwhile, rose 0.2%, well

below the 0.6% economists

expected. But February sales

were revised to show an

increase of 1.5%, up sharply

from the previously reported

0.8%.

[Index to Market Data]

[The Getting Going Center]

[[Mutual Fund Quarterly Review]]

[Image]

[Go] [Fund Flow graphic]

[Go]

Return to top of page

[Toolbar]

[Dow Jones Logo]

Reserved.