Sun, Jan 04, 2004 - Page 10 News List

Wall Street watches for `January gains'

HISTORICAL BAROMETER For 47 of the past 50 years, the first five trading days of the new year have reliably indicated the direction of the market for the entire year

AP , NEW YORK

And November's presidential election adds to the uncertainty. While an election year on average posts a 7.3 percent gain, it lags the average robust advance of 16.7 percent in the pre-election year, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. Analysts attribute that in part to the political uncertainty as investors make bets on the who the presidential challenger is and whether an incumbent will prevail.

"There's a lot of good breadth in the advance. That tends to point to a bullish underpinning in the market," said Tim Hayes, global stock strategist at Ned Davis Research in Venice, Florida. "I think the question here is how much longer the market will maintain this momentum. Whether or not it ends in January, we don't know."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week up 85.18, or 0.8 percent, at 10,409.85.

The S&P 500 was up 12.59, or 1.1 percent, closing at 1,108.48. The NASDAQ composite index gained 33.54, or 1.7 percent for the week, closing at 2,006.68.

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the movement of smaller-company stocks, rose 5.95, or 1 percent, closing at 560.85.

The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index, which tracks more than 5,700 U.S.-based companies, ended the week at 10,777.86, up 118.42 from the previous week. A year ago, the index was 8,593.22.

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