Wall Street high rise

December 4, 1999

BY EILEEN GLANTON ASSOCIATED PRESS


NEW YORK--The Nasdaq composite index and the Standard & Poor's 500 soared to records Friday and the Dow industrials closed in on a new high as investors exulted in fresh evidence that the nation's tight labor market is not contributing to rising inflation.


The Dow Jones industrial average rose 247.12, or by 2.2 percent, to close at 11,286.18. That left Wall Street's best-known average just 40 points shy of the record close of 11,326.04 reached Aug. 25.


At its peak Friday morning, the Dow was up 302 points before dropping back to finish with its second-biggest point gain of the year.


The Nasdaq composite rose 67.85 to 3,520.63, piercing the 3,500 mark just a month after breaking above 3,000 for the first time and leaving it up more than 60 percent since the end of last year.


The S&P 500 rose 24.26 to 1,433.30, topping its Nov. 18 closing record of 1,424.94.


Technology and large, widely held stocks led the way. Software company Oracle Corp. and Internet auctioneer eBay helped boost the Nasdaq.


Meanwhile, blue-chip companies IBM, General Electric and J.P. Morgan led the Dow.


"There's a strong focus across the board, but technology remains extraordinarily strong," said Jim Weiss, deputy chief investment officer for equities at State Street Research and Management Co. in Boston.


The rally was sparked by a report showing that inflationary forces remained mild last month even as the economy created 234,000 jobs and the nation's unemployment held steady at a three-decade low of 4.1 percent.


"The employment numbers released today were benign and friendly, and suggested that inflation isn't around the corner," said James Meyer, director of research at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.


Friday's employment report was closely watched on Wall Street because recent economic barometers have delivered a mixed picture. Declines in manufacturing activity have suggested that the Fed's interest rate increases are cooling the economy and keeping inflation at bay.


Bonds rose, lending extra support to the stock market. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell to 6.25 percent, from 6.31 percent late Thursday.






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