Stocks Rise
... as Clinton tape airs
by Greg Markus (TMF Boring)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Sept. 21, 1998) -- Our elected representatives in Congress may have only just begun their deliberations about independent counsel Kenneth Starr's report of his investigation of President Bill Clinton, but the stock market seems already to have reached a verdict.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average quickly fell more than 180 points as television networks began airing the videotape of Clinton's testimony to the Starr grand jury this morning. If you watched the broadcast on CNBC or one of the other stations that included the Dow ticker superimposed at the bottom of the screen, you saw it tick up fairly steadily all morning. Indeed, just about the time that the tape concluded, the Dow broke into positive territory.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also ended their sessions on higher ground, gaining 0.37% and an impressive 1.00%, respectively. The hapless Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks closed down modestly, however, and the Boring Portfolio fell 0.56%, with losing holdings outnumbering winners five to three.
Leading the Borefolio south were shares of Borders Group (NYSE: BGP) and Pentair (NYSE: PNR). Borders fell $3/4 to $25 5/16 in light trading on this Rosh Hashana holiday while Pentair dropped $1 1/4. I saw no news on either stock -- not even an announcement, as summer fades into autumn, of the long, long awaited official grand opening of Borders.com.
On the upside, our slumbering hotel REIT stock, FelCor Lodging Trust (NYSE: FCH) extended its stealth recovery, picking up $1/4 to close at $23 3/16.
Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) also helped the Boring cause by gaining $1 3/16 to $62 1/4. Cisco today announced availability of the uBR904 combination router and two-way cable modem for small offices. At a list price of $900, this plug-and-play device offers up to 10Mbps upstream and 40 Mbps downstream.
All the better to download that Clinton videotape to use as a screen-saver, perhaps?
Stock Change Bid ANDW - 3/8 12.25 CGO + 5/16 24.25 BGP - 3/4 25.31 CSL - 9/16 37.50 CSCO +1 3/16 62.25 FCH + 1/4 23.19 PNR -1 1/4 28.31 TBY - 1/8 6.19 |
Day Month Year History
BORING -0.56% 9.24% -15.10% 6.83%
S&P: +0.37% 6.93% 5.51% 64.71%
NASDAQ: +1.00% 12.09% 7.01% 61.43%
Rec'd # Security In At Now Change
6/26/96 225 Cisco Syst 23.96 62.25 159.86%
2/28/96 400 Borders Gr 11.26 25.31 124.88%
8/13/96 200 Carlisle C 26.32 37.50 42.45%
3/5/97 150 Atlas Air 23.06 24.25 5.17%
4/14/98 100 Pentair 43.74 28.31 -35.27%
11/6/97 200 FelCor Sui 37.59 23.19 -38.31%
5/20/98 400 TCBY Enter 10.05 6.19 -38.40%
1/21/98 200 Andrew Cor 26.09 12.25 -53.05%
Rec'd # Security In At Value Change
6/26/96 225 Cisco Syst 5389.99 14006.25 $8616.26
2/28/96 400 Borders Gr 4502.49 10125.00 $5622.51
8/13/96 200 Carlisle C 5264.99 7500.00 $2235.01
3/5/97 150 Atlas Air 3458.74 3637.50 $178.76
4/14/98 100 Pentair 4374.25 2831.25 -$1543.00
5/20/98 400 TCBY Enter 4018.00 2475.00 -$1543.00
1/21/98 200 Andrew Cor 5218.00 2450.00 -$2768.00
11/6/97 200 FelCor Sui 7518.00 4637.50 -$2880.50
CASH $5750.59
TOTAL $53413.09
