Nasdaq Up; Blue Chips Lose Ground --- Greenspan Testimony Today Stirs Worry
Soaring computer-networking and Internet stocks pushed the Nasdaq Composite Index to its ninth consecutive record, but blue-chip stocks slipped amid worries about Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's congressional testimony, which starts today.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had hit its latest record on Friday, declined 42.22, or 0.45%, to 9295.75. The broader Standard & Poor's 500-stock index slipped 2.65, or 0.22%, from Friday's record to 1184.10 in quiet trading. The Nasdaq composite, however, rose 5.49, or 0.27%, to 2014.25 on gains by companies such as Yahoo! and Cisco Systems, even though Microsoft, Intel and Dell Computer fell.</br></br>Bonds gained; the dollar was mixed.</br></br>Many investors hope the Fed chairman today and tomorrow will hint that he is pulling back to a neutral position on interest rates, softening the Fed's current bias toward raising rates. Some economists even think that, with economic growth apparently slowing, the Fed could cut rates later this year, helping stocks and bonds. The 30-year Treasury bond gained 17/32, or $5.31 per $1,000 bond, cutting the yield to 5.707%.</br></br>Bullish comments from two prominent Wall Street investment strategists didn't overcome sour news from several fronts. McDonald's warned of a difficult second half, while union members at General Motors' Saturn unit voted to strike, and soft oil prices hurt Exxon.