Stories by Anjali Arora

Market Movers: The Downer in the Dell

Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) became the market's latest earnings victim Thursday. Its profit warning, released after the markets closed Wednesday, led to a widespread tech sell-off Thursday and yet another retreat for the Nasdaq. The tech index undid Wednesday's gains by dropping 1.5 percent, or 51.00, to close at 3472.10. The Dow lost 0.55 percent, or 59.56, to 10724.92.

Market Movers: Kodak Drags Dow Down

A drop in Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) took the Dow down today, and it seems the Nasdaq decided to go along for the ride. Both indexes fell about 1.5 percent, unable to reverse recent losses.

Market Movers: Trouble in Tech Land

A down day in the semiconductor sector brought the Nasdaq tumbling down Wednesday, disproving predictions of a post-Labor-Day rally. The Nasdaq lost 3 percent, or 129.84, to 4013.34, giving back the bulk of recent gains. Movement in the financial sector, meanwhile, buoyed the Dow, which gained 0.44 percent, or 50.03, to 11310.64.

Market Movers: Wake-Up Call

The late-August market doldrums broke Tuesday on rumors of another merger extraordinaire: Would Credit Suisse First Boston buy Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Inc.? This morning, the answer turned out to be a big "yes," to the tune of $11.5 billion. The merger would create a global investment powerhouse; this week it made DLJ shareholders very happy. The stock continued to rise Wednesday after Tuesday's 20 percent jump, gaining an additional 5 percent, or $4.38, to $88.38.

Market Movers: Back in Black

Gains in large-cap tech stocks helped keep the Nasdaq above the 4000 mark today, bringing it just slightly into positive territory for the year. The unexpected pop lifted the broad market as well, with both the Nasdaq and the Dow posting small gains. The Dow rose half a percent, or 60.21, to close at 11252.84, while the Nasdaq was up about 0.7 percent, or 27.91, to 4070.59.

Market Movers: Chips Ahoy

It's official: The sector of the month is semiconductors. Despite a generally lackluster market and continuing investor skepticism toward technology stocks, semiconductor stocks are going up and up, with today's rise marking six consecutive days of gains for semiconductor stocks. Among the winners were Analog Devices Inc., National Semiconductor Corp. and Novellus.

Market Movers: Barely Moving

An uninspired market it may be, but the Nasdaq closed above 4000 Wednesday for the first time in nearly a month. Gains in a few individual tech stocks drove the index up 1.3 percent, or 52.80, to close at 4011.01. The more staid Dow was nearly even Wednesday, gaining only 5.5 points, or 0.05 percent, to 11144.65.

Market Movers: Valley of Indecision

The Dow enjoyed a small spike Wednesday on evidence of slowing economic growth: Housing data revealed that new home sales fell 4 percent in June, bringing the figure 13 percent below June 1999 levels. The Dow rose 0.76 percent in response, gaining 80.58, to 10687.53. The Nasdaq wasn't similarly buoyed, however, and dropped nearly the same amount, 0.73 percent, or 27.06, to 3658.46.

Market Movers: Fear of Rising Rates

Capping a week of increasingly negative activity, the Nasdaq plunged nearly 5 percent Friday, closing far below the 4000 mark. Disappointing earnings had led to sell-offs earlier in the week, but fears of rising interest rates seemed to drive Friday's drop.

Market Movers: Winning on Fundamentals

So maybe earnings do matter after all. They did Friday, anyway, as strong earnings separated the market's winners from its losers. Companies with positive news took the lead, driving the Nasdaq above 4200 - its third consecutive rise. The index went up 1.64 percent, or 68.44, to close at 4243.30. The Dow rose a slight 0.17 percent, or 18.03, to 10806.74.

Market Movers: A Firecracker Finish

Break out the fireworks - for now, anyway. The market ended last week on an up note, with both the Dow and the Nasdaq climbing to strong finishes by Friday's end. The Nasdaq rose over 2 percent, or 88.88, to 3966.11. The Dow gained 0.48 percent, or 49.85, to 10447.89. Friday's finish brings the second quarter to a decently strong close, though both indexes remain in the red for the year to date.

Market Movers: The Yo-Yo Falls Again

The yo-yo Nasdaq slipped again today, weighed down by losses in technology. The index lost 53.65, or 1.4 percent, to close at 3797.41. The Dow meanwhile held steady, posting a small 0.62 percent gain. It rose 66.11 to close at 10687.95.

Market Movers: The Floor Collapses

The Nasdaq index made its lowest close of the year today, dropping nearly 6 percent after holding its ground earlier in the day. The index lost 199.59, and closed at 3164.62. The Dow meanwhile dropped only 1 percent, or 120.28, to 10422.27.

Market Movers: It Hurts Worse on a Slow Day

The Nasdaq compounded last week's losses with a 6
percent drop this morning. The index dropped 177.24, to 3213.16, in morning
trading. The stock market suffered from extremely low trading volume this
morning. Investors appear to be wary of trading at a time when the Federal
Reserve Board has taken a cautious stance, and they may already be apprehensive
about the results of the board's next meeting, only four weeks away. The low
volume exaggerated all of the market's movements this morning, heightening the
pain of the sell-off. Large-cap losers this morning included Oracle Corp.,
which dropped 10 percent to $63.10, and Cisco Systems Inc., which lost 6
percent to $50.12. Dell Computer Corp. dropped 6 percent to $44.18. In the
Internet sector, Ariba plunged 13 percent to $51.25, and Amazon.com INc. fell 9
percent to $47.93. Investors continued to rebuff merger news as well. Vignette
Corp. announced a $1.7 billion stock deal to buy Internet software firm
OnDisplay Inc. - and Vignette's stock promptly plunged 23 percent to $33.50.
OnDisplay held steady, though, losing only 1 percent to $52.75. WebMethods Inc.
announced plans to buy Active Software for $1.3 billion. Active Software lost 9
percent to $30.12, while WebMethods dropped 22 percent to $68.

Market Movers: Rate-Hike Hangover

The stock market suffered a slight fall today, ending its recent rally. Investor optimism seemed to wane after yesterday's interest rate hikes. The Nasdaq lost 2 percent, or 72.79, to 3644.78. The Dow dropped 164.83, or 1.5 percent, to close at 10769.74.

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