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Stocks recovered for the day with investors cautiously picking out attractively-valued shares after two days of heavy selling. However, gains were constrained by interest rates uncertainty and worries that a commodities sell-off could signal an economic slowdown. The technology sector was a focus after Dell Inc announced a restructuring that includes using chips made by Advanced Micro Devices in some higher-end servers.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 15.77 or 0.1% to 11,144.06, the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 5.39 or 0.4% to 1,267.20, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed up 13.56 or 0.6% to 2,193.88. For the week, the Dow lost 2.1%, the S&P 500 lost 1.9%, and the Nasdaq took a 2.2% loss, after nervousness about inflation inspired some heavy sell-offs earlier in the week.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers topped decliners by 19 to 13 on volume of 2.2 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, winners edged out losers 17 to 13 as 2.6 billion shares changed hands.

Concerns about inflation and interest rates persisted, and the markets see-sawed all day long. Investors are concerned about inflation pressures as they look for clues as to what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates at its next meeting in late June. They will pay close attention to the string of economic reports due next week, including April readings on durable goods orders and new and existing home sales.

Shares of Gap Inc. closed up $0.65 or 3% to $18.57 despite the first-quarter net income falling 17% because of slumping clothing sales at all its store brands. Additionally, the company added that an upturn is unlikely until the second half. However, the profit’s managed to exceed Wall Street estimates, while sales of $3.44 billion fell just shy of estimates.

Dell reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that fell in line with the lowered forecast the company issued last week. The stock closed up $0.62 or 2% to $24.57. The company also stated that it will introduce servers with AMD chips. This is a significant move since the company has previously only used Intel chips. Shares of Dell have plummeted 40% in the last 12 months, while shares of HP gained 52%. In the aftermath of the statement from Dell, shares of Intel Corp. fell to close 14 cents lower at $18.35. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. closed up $3.60 to $34.95.

In a heated takeover bid, Mittal Steel raised its offer for rival Arcelor by 34%, only one day after formally launching a bid for the world’s second-biggest steelmaker. On this news, U.S.-listed shares of Mittal Steel fell 3.1% to close at $33.10.

Crude futures ended at a 6-week low, after losing almost 5% on the week. Crude for June delivery ended down 92 cents at $68.53 a barrel.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter