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Dow up 26.87
Associated PressNEW YORK -- Stocks ended mostly higher today after being pulled in different directions. Investors had to balance favorable news for tech companies with a profit warning from a respected regional banking company.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.87 to close at 10,714.82, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.06 to 1,478.60 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 48.33 at 3,845.74. Decliners barely edged out advancers, 1,458 to 1,413, with 518 unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 997.95 million shares, up from 929 million shares yesterday.
The NYSE composite index gained 0.71 to 657.44, the American Stock Exchange composite index fell 3.21 to 940.01 and the Russell 2000 index was down 2.58 at 512.25. The 30-year Treasury bond fell point, or $250 per $1,000 face amount. Its yield rose 1 basis point to 5.92 percent.
Lucent Technologies led the tech sector higher as reports surfaced that the telecommunications equipment maker was considering spinning off a microelectronics unit for more than $50 billion. Lucent rose $3.06 to $59.69. Hewlett-Packard shares also rose, gaining $3 to $117 after the company announced plans to start an online commerce venture in Japan. Enthusiasm in the tech sector was muted, however, by a steep dropoff in wireless equipment maker Qualcomm, which fell $9.06 to $61.44. Chase H&Q cut its earnings and revenue estimates for Qualcomm.
Financial stocks suffered after Wachiova Corp., a banking company in North Carolina warned investors that its profits would be hurt by rising interest rates.