A bull stampede took place on Wall Street Wednesday as delighted investors beat back bearish sentiment following better than expected results from Cisco Systems. The networking hardware giant jumped more than twenty percent in early Wednesday trading as the company provided analysts and investors with a favorable earnings report after Tuesday’s market close.
Cisco’s strong results fueled a broad market rally lifting all the major indexes to significant gains and sparking big gains in the recently moribund technology sector.
At the market’s close the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up 305.28 on the day at 10,141.83. The blue chip index blew through the 10,000 point support level and erased recent losses. The S&P 500 Index advanced 39.36 to end the day at 1,088.40 and the NASDAQ Composite Index soared almost eight percent, adding 122.47 points to close at 1,696.29.
Apple
On Wednesday Apple released iPhoto 1.1.1. The updated photo organization software now includes enhanced controls and integration with OS X’s e-mail application. The free upgrade is available from the Apple Web site.
Apple’s iChat, the instant messaging component of the forthcoming Mac OS X upgrade code-named "Jaguar", is the first non-AOL native product that will be officially compatible with AOL’s instant messaging service. The Mac OS X, 10.2 upgrade package will also include greater compatibility with Windows-based networks. This release may represent the coming of age of OS X as designers and other creative pros begin to embrace the benefits of Apple’s new Unix-based OS. Apple reports more than 3,000 Mac OS X native applications are now available for consumers and businesses. AAPL ended Wednesday up more than eight percent at $24.37.
Adobe Systems
Last week a jury sided with Adobe in its patent infringement lawsuit against Macromedia. Adobe was awarded $2.8 million in damages. The lawsuit centered on Adobe’s claims that Macromedia infringed on Adobe’s patent for the way that palettes appear on the screen and can be configured by users. Adobe expects the court to issue an injunction stopping Macromedia from further violations of Adobe’s patent.
Right after the verdict was announced, Merrill Lynch downgraded Macromedia to a “near-term sell/long-term neutral”, citing the current valuation of the stock as the reason for the downgrade.
Soon after Adobe filed the patent infringement suit, Macromedia filed a countersuit alleging that Adobe violated its patents. Macromedia’s suit is scheduled to heat up this week as the two graphics software rivals prepare to meet each other again in court.
Hewlett-Packard
On Tuesday Hewlett-Packard announced that the Compaq brand name will continue to be used in both the consumer and enterprise markets. The company expects to eliminate about 15,000 jobs over the next two years as a result of the HP-Compaq merger. According to a company release, management expects many of the jobs to be eliminated through attrition and voluntary severance programs. However, layoffs resulting from the merger will begin as early as next week.
IBM
According to news reports, IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano warned employees late last month not to expect a turnaround in the technology market until well into 2003. IBM’s share price has recently plummeted from a high of over $126 per share in January to an intra-day low of $75.92 earlier this week. IBM’s shares responded to the Cisco earnings surprise, jumping seven percent in early Wednesday trading.
In Wednesday activity:
Apple (AAPL) ended Wednesday trading up $1.90 at $24.37.
Adobe Systems (ADBE) closed up $5.06 at $41.41.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) was trading at exactly $20.00, up $1.59 when the closing bell rang.
IBM (IBM) jumped $6.09 to $82.44, helping the Dow to a 305 point gain on the day.
Macromedia (MACR) finished at $21.66, up $1.80 in a broad tech market rally.
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For full quotes on all the companies mentioned in this article, we have assembled a set of stock quotes at Yahoo! for your reference. For other stories regarding Apple’s stock activity, visit our updated Apple Stock Watch Special Report.