NEW YORK, Dec. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Technology stocks finished out the
holiday- shortened week modestly higher, supported by some strong earnings
reports from Research In Motion and Micron Technology. Both companies
released results that easily beat Wall Street forecasts, reinforcing hopes
that information technology spending has started to recover. Relatively
robust economic data released before the Christmas holiday also continued to
support expectations that the economic recovery is gathering steam. Trading
volumes were light due to the holidays and despite the strong economic and
earnings data, as investors are content to sit out the remainder of the year.
The equity markets have staged impressive gains so far in 2003, with the
Nasdaq up about 47% and both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500
Index up over 23% each, prompting many to simply sit on their gains for the
year. The big gains in the broader averages have also helped to turn market
psychology around from where it was earlier this year, which has resulted in
greater resiliency for the averages when faced with negative news. Renewed
terror concerns were largely taken in stride last week, after the government
raised the terror threat level to orange, due to worries about the increased
likelihood of a terror attack. In fact, terror fears caused the cancellation
of a number of Air France flights from Paris to Los Angeles. "This is an
indication of how strong the market is," said Adam Tracy, director of listed
trading at Thomas Weisel Partners, in a Reuters News story. "A year ago, we
would have been down some 150 points, but now people are willing to risk a bit
more by staying invested because they think the economy is really doing that
much better." This week will likely be quiet again, with some market watchers
expecting the market to drift higher until earnings warning season begins in
early January.
High-Tech Monday Update is provided courtesy of Thomson Financial. This
information is believed to be true and accurate; we take no responsibility for
inaccurate information and reserve the right to update our reports. For more
information, please visit our web site at http://www.thomson.com/financial.
SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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