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Wednesday, Sep. 2, 1998
Texas stocks take a beating during market's wild ride
Tuesday's bounce helps Texas tech giants Dell and Compac regain losses
Associated Press
DALLAS - Shares of many companies based in Texas were not immune to Tuesday's wild ride on Wall Street when investors watched markets seesaw before ultimately finishing higher.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 288 points on Tuesday, its second-biggest point gain ever and undoing much of the damage done during Monday's 512-point rout.
Technology stocks, which have in the past withstood most earlier market downturns, rode the same kind of roller coaster.
On Monday, tech stocks led the market slide, but they came roaring back on Tuesday. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index regained about half of Monday's record plunge of 140.43 points.
As expected, tech stocks in Texas, which has about 10 percent of its workforce in high-tech industries, followed their counterparts.
Some market reactions for Lone Star companies included:
Houston-based Compaq was the most active stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday with volume of 21.5 million. Compaq closed Tuesday at $29.94, a $2 rebound from Monday's close at $27.94.
Round Rock-based Dell Computer regained ground, closing at $108.37, up $8.37. Dell's stock price had dropped $18.75 on Monday.
Some analysts surmised that Dell was hit hard in the sell-off because investors this week won't be able to participate in a 2-for-1 stock split announced for shareholders of record as of Aug. 28.
Electronic Data Systems closed at $34.87, up $1.56.
Tandy dropped $1.30 to $53.25.
Many analysts say they expect that Texas stocks can ride out the market.
``The fundamentals are good there. The consumer is still interested in spending and still has confidence. You're still seeing labor prices raising faster than inflation,'' said Stuart Freeman, an analyst with A.G. Edwards.
Freeman said he does expect to see a more selective market in the future.
``The utility stocks have done well. Some of the communications stocks also have done well through this,'' he said.
San Antonio-based SBC Communications closed at $38.94, up 87 cents on Tuesday, while Houston-based Enron closed at $43.12, up 81 cents.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web