Dow's surge helped by mining, transports

Dow's surge helped by mining, transports

	Published : Wed, 25 Apr 2007 22:09 By : Agencies Print this Story

NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market rally that pushed the Dow Jones industrials past 13,000 has been broad, but the blue chip index has benefited especially from strength in mining and transportation.

Wall Street's best performers since late February, right before U.S. markets joined a worldwide stock plunge, have been tire makers, coal companies, metal companies, railroad operators and power producers. These companies have driven the Dow transports index and Dow utilities index to record highs in recent days.

Dow industrial component companies in those sectors include aluminum producer Alcoa Inc., whose stock has risen nearly 6 percent since Feb. 27; diversified industrial conglomerate Honeywell International Inc., which has soared 17 percent; and construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar, whose stock has gained 13 percent.

Alcoa and Honeywell have been by far the two best-performing Dow components since Oct. 18, when the blue-chip index first surpassed 12,000.

Industries that have seen stocks lagging since the market stumbled include airlines, business training and employment companies, automakers and residential construction. Internet companies have also given the market some trouble in recent weeks, though strong profits from Web retailer Amazon.com released late Tuesday could help reverse that trend.

However, the large Dow component companies have been somewhat shielded from weakness in those sectors. Homebuilders D.R. Horton Inc. and Lennar Corp. have fallen about 12 percent since the market dip, but home products retailer and Dow component Home Depot Inc. has slipped less than 1 percent.

The housing market is a big portion of the broader U.S. economy, so weakness in that area has been of prime concern to investors. The Dow fell 416 points in a single session on Feb. 27 and struggled for several weeks before recovering; the drop was partially due to worries about falling home prices and mortgage defaults.

Overall, though, the market slide ended up being a minor setback in the Dow's six-month journey from 12,000 to 13,000, which was driven by rises in most of the 30 Dow component companies.

There have been only three stocks in the Dow that have slipped since the blue-chip index surpassed the 12,000 mark last October: health products maker Johnson & Johnson, drug maker Pfizer Inc. and conglomerate General Electric Co.