Cisco and Charles River Soar; Hospira, Toll Brothers Stumble; Other Housing Firms Drop As Do Federated, Disney Amid Broad Economic Fears
Continued concerns about the strength of the U.S. economy got the better of stocks yesterday, as sharp increases in Cisco Systems and Charles River Laboratories International were more than offset by Hospira's plunge and home builder Toll Brothers delivering an affirmation that conditions are cooling.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 97.41, or 0.87%, to 11076.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index eased 0.57, or 0.03%, to 2060.28, with its loss mitigated by Cisco's influence on the tech group. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 5.53, or 0.43%, to 1265.95. This was the fourth loss in a row for the three averages.</br></br>"We started off in pretty good shape but couldn't hang on as concerns about the economy hobbled us," said Alan Skrainka, chief market strategist with Edward Jones. "It's clear that 17 rate hikes are taking a bite out of industry sectors."</br></br>Still, Cisco Systems (Nasdaq) jumped $2.49, or 14%, to $19.78, boosting its market value by more than $15 billion in its biggest percentage advance in more than four years. The maker of routers, switches and other apparatus that connect computers to the Internet late Tuesday reported strong fourth-quarter results, buoyed by solid orders. It projected revenue would increase 15% to 20% for fiscal 2007.</br></br>The robust report lifted Cisco's rivals, as well. Juniper Networks (Nasdaq) rose 49 cents, or 3.8%, to 13.41, Alcatel's American depositary receipts gained 22 cents, or 2%, to 11.12, and Lucent Technologies, set to merge with Alcatel, advanced six cents, or 2.9%, to 2.11.