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TODAY'S MARKETS by Scott Patterson June27,20054:13p.m. WSJ
Blue Chips Slip as Oil Bubbles
Blue chips edged lower Monday as oil prices crossed $60.50 a barrel and investors wondered whether the run-up would slow the Federal Reserve's campaign to raise interest rates this year.
Some analysts say the Fed should stop lifting its target on the federal-funds rate because of the impact of energy costs on the economy. Crude has soared to record highs in each of the past five trading days. Monday, light, sweet crude rose 70 cents at $60.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, another record-high settlement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average zigzagged Monday in light trading. It finished 7.06 points lower at 10290.78. Components Walt Disney, Hewlett-Packard, Pfizer and United Technologies sustained losses of more than 1%. Exxon Mobil was the strongest stock on the Dow, rising 2%.
Boeing, at one point down more than 1%, rose 1.9% after reports that the aerospace giant planned to buy back up to 40 million shares, or about 5% of its outstanding stock.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 0.89 point to 1190.60 and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 8.07 points to 2045.20. Shares of Google bucked the trend in technology stocks, gaining $6.85, or 2.3%, to $304.10 -- its first close above $300 after flirting with the level for weeks.
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The Fed's decision on monetary policy comes Thursday after a two-day meeting. The central bank is widely expected to raise short-term interest rates by a quarter-percentage point for the ninth consecutive time, and to signal its policy to continue raising the rates at a "measured pace."
Investors also are watching for earnings forecasts for the second quarter as the "preannouncement" season is in full swing and some companies' profit reports start to trickle out.
…………………………..
In major market action:
Stocks were mixed. On the Big Board, where 1.4 billion shares traded, 1,662 stocks rose and 1,695 fell. On the Nasdaq Stock Market, where 1.5 billion shares changed hands, 1,269 stocks advanced and 1,798 declined.
Bonds edged higher. The 10-year Treasury note rose 2/32, or 63 cents per $1,000 invested, to yield 3.909% early Monday. The 30-year note rose 2/32 to yield 4.201%. Yields move inversely to prices.
The dollar was mixed. It traded at 109.35 yen, up from 109.06 yen late Friday, while the euro gained against the dollar to $1.2166 from $1.2103.
TODAY'S MARKETS by Scott Patterson June27,20054:13p.m. WSJ
Blue Chips Slip as Oil Bubbles
Blue chips edged lower Monday as oil prices crossed $60.50 a barrel and investors wondered whether the run-up would slow the Federal Reserve's campaign to raise interest rates this year.
Some analysts say the Fed should stop lifting its target on the federal-funds rate because of the impact of energy costs on the economy. Crude has soared to record highs in each of the past five trading days. Monday, light, sweet crude rose 70 cents at $60.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, another record-high settlement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average zigzagged Monday in light trading. It finished 7.06 points lower at 10290.78. Components Walt Disney, Hewlett-Packard, Pfizer and United Technologies sustained losses of more than 1%. Exxon Mobil was the strongest stock on the Dow, rising 2%.
Boeing, at one point down more than 1%, rose 1.9% after reports that the aerospace giant planned to buy back up to 40 million shares, or about 5% of its outstanding stock.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 0.89 point to 1190.60 and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 8.07 points to 2045.20. Shares of Google bucked the trend in technology stocks, gaining $6.85, or 2.3%, to $304.10 -- its first close above $300 after flirting with the level for weeks.
....................................
The Fed's decision on monetary policy comes Thursday after a two-day meeting. The central bank is widely expected to raise short-term interest rates by a quarter-percentage point for the ninth consecutive time, and to signal its policy to continue raising the rates at a "measured pace."
Investors also are watching for earnings forecasts for the second quarter as the "preannouncement" season is in full swing and some companies' profit reports start to trickle out.
…………………………..
In major market action:
Stocks were mixed. On the Big Board, where 1.4 billion shares traded, 1,662 stocks rose and 1,695 fell. On the Nasdaq Stock Market, where 1.5 billion shares changed hands, 1,269 stocks advanced and 1,798 declined.
Bonds edged higher. The 10-year Treasury note rose 2/32, or 63 cents per $1,000 invested, to yield 3.909% early Monday. The 30-year note rose 2/32 to yield 4.201%. Yields move inversely to prices.
The dollar was mixed. It traded at 109.35 yen, up from 109.06 yen late Friday, while the euro gained against the dollar to $1.2166 from $1.2103.
