By Wallace Witkowski and Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks pared gains Friday,
sending the Dow industrials back below 14,000, as wary investors
anticipated a pullback given a recent bullish run in equities.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) climbed 43.57 points, or
0.3%, to 13,987.62 after touching an intraday high of 14,022.62
earlier. Twenty-one out of 30 components of the Dow traded higher
with Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) leading the way with a 2.6%
gain.
Following the tech bubble of the late 1990s and the 2008
financial-crisis rout, investors are less likely to trust bull
runs, said Janet Briaud, president of Briaud Financial Services,
who notes the current level of bullishness in stocks is similar to
that of late 2007.
"[The Dow] hits 14,000 and then goes back, it's a big barrier
from a technical standpoint. That level of bullishness is something
to pay attention to," Briaud said.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) gained 7.10 points, or 0.5%, to
1,516.49, with tech and consumer discretionary stocks leading the
10 sectors higher.
Stocks on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index (RIXF) remained
near their intraday highs, advancing 29.17 points, or 0.9%, to
3,194.30. Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) rose 1.6% to $475.47 in
recent activity.
Stocks received some level of support from Friday's economic
data. Data, such as the U.S. trade deficit and China trade numbers,
are still supportive of continued slow economic growth, said Paul
Nolte, managing director at Dearborn Partners in Chicago.
The U.S. trade deficit fell almost 21% in December to $38.5
billion, marking the biggest drop in four years, as exports rose
and imports softened. In China, exports and imports accelerated at
a faster-than-expected rate in January, according to official
data.
Following a rise of 12% since mid-November, with about 6% of
that in January alone, the new line for the S&P 500 appears to
be 1,500, Nolte said.
"Markets are going sideways to work off that bullish run, and
from a bullish perspective that's a good thing," said Nolte. Stocks
have had a seesaw week in general as investors deal with a stock
market considered by many as overbought with the anticipation of a
big correction around the corner.
Meanwhile, the Northeast, including New York City, was bracing
for a major blizzard, which is expected to reach maximum intensity
on Saturday morning. Thousands of flights have been grounded.
Trading volume looked thinner than average. Composite volume on
the NYSE topped 1.7 billion shares; the daily average has been
around 3.6 billion. About 1.1 billion shares changed hands on the
Nasdaq Stock Market. A spokesman for the NYSE Euronext's (NYX) New
York Stock Exchange said trading will proceed as usual Friday.
Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners by just under 2 to 1 on
the NYSE and Nasdaq.
In corporate news, McDonald's Corp. (MCD) said its global
comparable sales in January fell 1.9%. Shares rose 0.7%.
Shares of LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) rallied more than 20% after the
professional social network reported better-than-expected
fourth-quarter earnings and revenue.
Moody's Corp. (MCO) shares fell 9%. The ratings agency reported
a 66% surge in fourth-quarter earnings, but they came in slightly
lower than expected. Also, New York Attorney General Eric
Schneiderman is looking at any potential misconduct by the three
major credit-ratings firms, including Moody's, a person familiar
with the matter told MarketWatch.
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