A `Greenspan Rally' Proves Short for Stocks
Alan Greenspan had upbeat words for investors, but not upbeat enough to sustain much of a stock rally.</br></br>After being up as much as 1.38%, or 139.98 points in the morning, while Mr. Greenspan was speaking to the House Financial Services Committee, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up only 0.12%, or 12.32 points, at 10127.58. In his comments, the Federal Reserve chairman said he sees increasing signs that the nation's recession is ending, though he cautioned that any recovery this year is likely to be mild.</br></br>Some traders said a turning point for stocks was the midday announcement from Wachovia Securities that it was cutting earnings forecasts for Cisco Systems, which finished the day down 8% on the news.</br></br>Cisco isn't a component of the Dow industrials, but it is an influential part of the Nasdaq Composite Index, which is dominated by large technology companies. After being up as much as 1.52% early in the day, the Nasdaq composite turned down sharply after the Wachovia announcement, finishing down 0.85%, or 14.98 points, at 1751.88.</br></br>Stock investors also were disappointed that Mr. Greenspan didn't see a stronger economy, and some decided to cash in their recent profits.