Shares of Red Hat surged 11% Friday on news that earnings more than doubled in the company’s most recent quarter, but the broader market tumbled after reports showed higher inflation and slower growth, raising fears of 1970s-style “stagflation.”
Red Hat’s earnings soared 146% from a year ago, and the company said it expects to grow 40% this year. An upgrade from R.W. Baird also helped boost the stock of the Linux vendor.
The broader market, meanwhile, sank under the weight of rising oil prices, weaker than expected jobs growth and signs of inflation in a manufacturing report.
The Nasdaq lost 14 to 1984, the S&P 500 fell 7 to 1172, and the Dow tumbled 99 to 10,404, weighed down once again by accounting problems at insurance giant AIG . Volume declined to 2.17 billion shares on the NYSE, and rose to 1.9 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners led by a few issues on the NYSE, and by a 19-11 margin on the Nasdaq. Downside volume was 67% on the NYSE, and 70% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 58-56 on the NYSE, and 54-118 on the Nasdaq.
MCI climbed after the company said it will consider Qwest’s
latest offer.
PalmSource jumped 8% after the company met estimates, while Cognos
rose 3% on its results.