NEW YORK -- Stocks ended mixed today after technology shares rallied from a deep slump in the final hour, pulling broad market indexes up with them. Dow off 21.73
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 21.73 to close at 9,275.88. The blue-chip index swung widely, rising as much as 40 points and shedding as much as 86 before trimming its losses in the final 30 minutes.
Decliners beat advancers by a 5-to-4 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,306 up, 1,629 down and 583 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 749.54 million shares vs. 748.34 million yesterday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 2.20 to 1,227.70, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 6.17 to 2,265.20.
The NYSE composite index fell 0.39 to 582.55, and the American Stock Exchange composite index dropped 4.76 to 694.45. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies lost 2.48 points to end at 391.95.
Computer stocks dropped after 3Com Corp., which sells Internet data, voice and video systems, said late yesterday that third-quarter operating earnings will be far below analysts' expectations because of an "unexpected slowdown" in sales to businesses in the United States and Latin America.
The 30-year Treasury bond, meanwhile, was down more than a point and yielding just under 5.70 percent, an eight-month high, up from 5.61 percent yesterday.
"The specific problem, short-term, is the bond market and rising yields," said Larry Wachtel, market analyst at Prudential Securities. With stock prices so high, "it's very hard to justify these valuations when interest rates are rising."