NO TRADING TRAUMA; STOCK MARKET STABLE IN FACE OF CHAOS.Byline: Seth Sutel Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Bombs are flying in the Middle East, the leader of the free world The "Leader of the Free World" is a title used sometimes to describe the President of the United States, though the title is debated by those who consider themselves to be part of the "Free World", but not under the leadership of the United States. is on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of being impeached, and the stock market is . . . going up? Political shocks aren't quite the trauma they used to be on Wall Street. While investors aren't ignoring these events, they also aren't convinced that the problems pose a real threat to the economy yet. What's more, there's plenty of good news to focus on. Inflation has been nearly wiped out, oil is in plentiful supply, and interest rates are low and may be going lower. ``The market is essentially focusing on the fact that the economic backdrop is positive,'' said Alan Ackerman, senior vice president at the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of brokerage Fahnestock & Co. ``Most players are taking a long-term view that patience will pay off,'' Ackerman said. ``The feeling is that the difficulties with Iraq will be temporary and that the president's difficulties with impeachment impeachment, formal accusation issued by a legislature against a public official charged with crime or other serious misconduct. In a looser sense the term is sometimes applied also to the trial by the legislature that may follow. in all probability will be concluded soon.'' A string of warnings about lower profits from several high-profile companies caused some declines in recent weeks and again Wednesday, but good forecasts from industry leaders General Electric Co. and Chase Manhattan Bank The Chase Manhattan Bank, now part of JPMorgan Chase, was formed by the merger of the Chase National Bank and the Bank of the Manhattan Company in 1955. The bank is headquartered in New York City. have helped ease the concern. That pretty much covers anything that the stock market is normally worried about - inflation, interest rates, corporate profits and the overall economic picture. As a result, financial markets were remarkably stable Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average Dow Jones Industrial Average The best known U.S. index of stocks. A price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks, primarily industrials including stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. rose 85.22 to close at 8,875.82. Other markets were also calm - the dollar was off slightly against other currencies, and U.S. Treasury U.S. Treasury Created in 1798, the United States Department of the Treasury is the government (Cabinet) department responsible for issuing all Treasury bonds, notes and bills. Some of the government branches operating under the U.S. Treasury umbrella include the IRS, U.S. bonds edged lower. Why are markets so calm now, especially given the sharp sell-off they saw in late 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait? At that time, deep uncertainty about the smooth flow of oil from the Middle East helped push crude oil over $40 a barrel, about four times today's prices, bringing on fears of inflation, not to mention that the U.S. economy was also entering a slowdown. Today's situation is very different. So far the tensions with Iraq aren't threatening to disrupt oil flow from the region, and investors don't seem to expect a prolonged conflict. In fact, after jumping Wednesday on news of the attacks, oil prices were falling back sharply Thursday toward their historic lows as investors focused on the worldwide glut of oil, which shows no signs of abating. Crude oil fell $1.35, or 11 percent, to close at $11.03 on the New York Mercantile Exchange New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) The world's largest physical commodity futures exchange. . The rock-bottom prices for oil and other key commodities have been helping keep inflation - one of the most feared arch-enemies of any financial market - in submission, removing a major economic threat of the 1970s and early 1980s. To be sure, any number of things could still unseat the market - an escalation of hostilities with Iraq or a turn for the worse in the troubled economies of Japan, Russia or Brazil. ``Have any of these problems reached the stage where they are material? Will they affect the economy and company earnings in 1999? The answer is no,'' said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at the brokerage First Albany Corp. ``It's no big deal to me,'' said Tony Deberadinis, a business consultant who was checking stock prices at Fidelity Investments in Boston. ``Iraq and impeachment don't affect what Intel's going to do in a day or in a month.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. in New York, where investors seemed unaffected by world events Thursday. Stuart Ramson/Associated Press |
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