Sorry ... We're Out of Breadth
by Nelson Schwartz
Investors who were hoping for a follow-up to Thursday's convincing rally were disappointed Friday as strong blue chips parted ways from the broader market, which closed lower. The Dow jumped a respectable 54 points to close at 7881 but the NASDAQ fell six points and the small-cap Russell 2000 finished down a fraction.
Sentiment had been stronger earlier in the day, but weakness in technology and reports that a major Japanese brokerage is about declare bankruptcy dragged the broader market lower. Expect more bad news from Asia over the weekend; if these markets take a tumble on Monday Wall Street could likely head lower next week.
The latest from MONEY Daily:
The firemen of the IMF are back on duty in Asia, this time, in South Korea. But it's far too early to stop worrying about those ailing tigers.