4 THE PLAIN DEALER MARCH TUESDAY 30, 1999 Yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 184 points to close above 10,000 for the first time. The Dow has weathered a rough 12 months, first plunging along with international markets last summer, then making a rapid recovery as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and investors cheered the roaring U.S. economy. 10,250 23 Yesterday 10,000 Weekly closes and key changes July 17 closes 19 New First close daily above 1- closing 9,750 01 at record Aug. 27 high 10,000 at April 6, 1998.
Dow drops 10,006.78 9,500 First close over 357.36 points 9,000 on worries Oct. 15 9,250 about Federal Reserve global unexpectedly March 3 9,000 economy. cuts interest Jan. 8, 1999 First weekly rates Record 1 close above 8,750 June 19 Dow closes 9,643.32 8,500 14 Dec. 31 close at 9,700 Dow finishes 1998 at 4 March 16 9,181.43 First crossed 8,250 a two-week drop, down Aug.
31 day, but closes 8,000 10,000 during 0 by 325 points The plunge at 9,930.47. continues 7,250 to 7,500 APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH 1998 1999 SOURCES: Bloomberg, Associated Press PLAIN DEALER Dow breaks the 10K barrier NYSE chairman credits investors for milestone FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS NEW YORK This time, it's for keeps. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed past 10,000 yesterday and stayed above the milestone until the closing bell. The 103-year-old index closed at 10,006.78, up 184.54 points, and the floor of the New York Stock Exchange began a long -awaited celebration. NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and John Prestbo, index editor for Dow Jones banged the gavel symbolizing the close of the trading day and then began tossing baseball caps with "Dow 10,000" embroidered on the front to the cheering, waving traders on the floor.
At a post -close news confer-' ence, Grasso gave credit for the milestone to investors who have poured money into stocks either directly or through mutual funds or pension plans for the past decade. At McDonald Investments in Cleveland, the 10K event didn't even warrant cracking open a pop can, let alone uncorking champagne. "There was nothing. I didn't know it until 10 minutes after the close," said Jerry Dombcik, research director. "There's really no significance, other than it's still a great bull market.
In itself, the number doesn't mean much. It's really a media event." To Jim Kirk, senior vice president of National City Bank and chief investment officer of the bank's Private Investment Advisors division, the record high caused him to reflect on why the Dow is 13 times higher than it was in the 1980s. "I think it's fundamentals. I think it's earnings growth. I think it's interest rates.
I think it's the mood of the country," he said. Denise Farkas, senior vice president of Spero-Smith Invest- ment Advisors in Beachwood, had this advice for investors: "Stay the course. It's never paid to be a market timer. It's never been a great strategy." Theodore Tung, chief economist at National City expects the market to become more vulnerable for correction. "We're going to see periodic selling pressure because people get nervous at high While the domestic market is strong with low interest rates and low inflation, Tung said, some people are still not very comfortable.
"If you look worldwide, much of the world is still in a recession or on the verge of a recession, and that poses uncertainty." He also said consumer demand has been soaring and if it continues the Federal Reserve will begin to raise interest rates. The Fed's Open Market Committee meets today, but is not expected to raise its interest rates. Among other indexes yesterday, the Standard Poor's 500 rose 27.37 to 1,310.17, and the NASDAQ composite, which represents many technology stocks and small-to-medium size companies, rose 73.67 at 2,492.84. The NYSE composite index rose 10.81 to 613.16, but the American Stock Exchange composite index dropped 0.86 to 717.88. The market was buoyed by merger news, the biggest of which is the possible deal between the oil companies BP Amoco and Atlantic Richfield.
Atlantic Richfield advanced $8.69 to $74.06. BP rose $4.63 to $105. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.4 percent. Germany's DAX index soared 2.13 percent. Britain's FT-SE 100 was up 1.66 percent, and France's CAC-40 was up 0.92 percent.
Plain Dealer reporters Marcia Pledger and Bill Lubinger contributed to this article. BP Amoco-Arco deal may cut jobs, but not gasoline prices ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK A takeover of Atlantic Richfield by BP Amoco could spur more job cuts and mergers as the industry struggles to cope with historically oil low prices. However, it isn't expected to have much of an impact at the gas pump. The companies confirmed yesterday they are talking about UAW chief's opposition could delay GM decision on replacing Lordstown By CHRISTOPHER JENSEN PLAIN DEALER AUTO EDITOR Opposition from the head of the United Auto Workers will probably delay General Motors decision whether to build a "modular assembly" plant to replace its Lordstown opcration. Ilowever, UAW President Stephen Yokich's criticism of modular assembly Sunday is probably not enough to hurt the Lordstown Dow's climb to 10,000 Diary STOCKS Dow Jones industrials A Close: 10,006.78 Change D.J.
NASDAQ AMEX management of SocGen and Paribas have vowed to fight BNP's bid. 'NATIONAL NEW HOMES: New home sales declined 2 percent in February, the third consecutive drop since they hit a record high last fall. Americans purchased new homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 881,000 last month, a five-month low and down from 899,000 in January, the Commerce Department said yesterday. Although down considerably from the record 985,000 pace in November, the February sales rate was nevertheless considered strong. Sales for the first two months of this year are running 1.4 percent ahead of the same period in 1998.
AUCTIONS: Amazon.com the Internet's biggest retailer of books and music, said it will add auctions to its Web site to attract more visitors and capitalize on a fastgrowing and profitable form of online commerce. Amazon will go head-to-head with eBay the leading Web auctioneer. Amazon has been adding items such as music and buying stakes in other online companies in its pursuit to become the dominant Internet retailer. NO. 1: Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
was the nation's biggest toy retailer in 1998, dethroning Toys Us Inc. for the first time in more than a decade, analysts said. Wal-Mart's sales accounted for 17.4 percent of the market in 1998, while Toys Us held a 16.8 percent share last year, according to data released yesterday by the NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y., markct rescarch firm. INTERNATIONAL HIGHER: Olivetti SpA yesterday boosted its hostile bid for Telecom Italia SpA by 15 percent to $75.9 billion, abruptly reversing course to keep alive its hopes of completing the biggest deal ever in European telecommunications. Olivetti might abandon its bid if Telecom Italia's shareholders approve a restructuring plan proposed by Telecom's management, Chief Executive Roberto Colaninno said in Milan, Italy.
Telecom shareholders are to vote on the restructuring plan April 10. MERGER: Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet cleared Banque Nationale de Paris SA's hostile $37 billion bid for Societe Generale SA and Paribas SA and urged the three to hold talks on the merger. BNP's surprise share-swap offer, made March 9, would create the only bank in the world with. over $1 trillion in assets. It.
came on the eve of the closing of an agreed $19 billion share-swap bid by SocGen to take over Paribas. The top REGIONAL MARCII: About 25 people began a 65-mile march from Niles, Ohio, to Pittsburgh yesterday on behalf of RMI Titanium Co. employees who have been on strike since Oct. 1, a union said. The march will end Thursday at the headquarters of USX which owns 26 percent of RMI Titanium and has two of the company's 10 board seats.
A USX spokesman said the strike is an RMI matter. Create beautiful, winning sales proposals in minutes not hours. Details at 440-824-2000 ASSOCIATED PRESS A mosaic of New York Stock Exchange traders applaud yesterday after the Dow Jones industrial average closes above 10,000 for the first time. The Dow was lifted by news of impending big mergers. Trial is first with law on economic spying By JOHN AFFLECK ASSOCIATED PRESS Adhesive makers Avery Dennison Corp.
and Four Pillars Enterprise of Taiwan seemed to have a cordial relationship. However, prosecutors say, while the companies appeared for years to be friendly rivals exchanging letters and discussing a possible joint venture Four Pillars executives were stealing trade secrets through an Avery Dennison scientist in Ohio. Yang, Four 72, Pillars and his President daughter, Pin Hwei Yen Chen "Sally" Yang, 40, are scheduled to go on trial today in U.S. District Court in Youngstown. The Yangs each are accused of economic espionage, conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and receipt of stolen goods.
SEE project's chances, several analysts and a GM official said yester- day. Speaking to about 1,000 UAW leaders, who are in Detroit until to discuss upcoming national contract negotiations, Yokich said, "There's nothing new about modular assembly. It's just another word for outsourcing. It's just another way to destroy good-paying jobs and benefits, that we intend to deal with in this combining, but have yet to conclude an agreement that sources close to the negotiations valued at $25 billion. A deal would be the eighth major merger in the oil and gas business in the past six months.
During the same time, the industry has announced it was eliminating almost 43,000 jobs, including significant cuts at BP Amoco. By combining in a deal that would create the world's secondlargest oil producer, the companies could save $1 billion a year in overlapping costs, analysts said. But workers know that's usually just a diplomatic way of saying, "You're fired." "Like all mergers, everybody waits until the other shoe drops," said Teamsters spokesman Tom Evans. SEE round of negotiations." In a modular plant, preassembled parts clusters, such as an entire dashboard, are delivered to the assembly plant by outside suppliers and installed on the chassis. Far fewer UAW workers would be needed to assemble each car, significantly reducing manufacturing costs, as a result of the proposed change, known as Project Yellowstone.
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