Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
NEW YORK -- Unable to put aside their earnings fears for long, investors returned today to a strategy of selling technology stocks and favoring relatively safer blue chips. The high-tech sector fell on Wall Street's biggest concern: that high interest rates, an economic slowdown and decreased consumer demand will push profits down further. Dow up 42.47
Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average finished higher, up 42.47 at 10,768.27. But the Nasdaq composite index fell 83.27 to 2,931.83, after closing yesterday above 3,000 for the first time since Nov. 17. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 9.02 to end at 1,371.18.
The NYSE composite index fell 2.53 to 655.00, the American Stock Exchange composite index lost 4.56 to 880.74 and the Russell 2000 index fell 9.46 to 477.77.
Decliners outnumbered advancers 7 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,592 down, 1,273 up and 457 unchanged. Volume was 1.07 billion shares, down from yesterday's 1.21 billion.
The Treasury's 10-year note rose 3/32 to a price of 103; its yield fell 1 basis point to 5.35 percent. The 30-year bond gained 6/32 to 110 12/32; its yield fell 1 basis point to 5.53 percent.
"Some people feel that 3,000 in the Nasdaq is an important level. So, we are seeing some profit taking," said Alan Skrainka, chief market strategist for A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis.
Chip makers lost ground after Advanced Micro Devices warned yesterday that weak demand for personal computers would lead to lower-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. AMD lost 6 cents to $17.25 and Intel, which issued a similar warning last week, slipped 94 cents at $36.50.
After the market closed, Compaq Computer said sales and profits will miss forecasts in the fourth quarter and 2001 because of weak PC sales to consumers and small businesses.