NEW YORK >> Wall Street pulled back today, its second decline in three sessions, as investors succumbed to profit-taking in the absence of significant earnings news. Stocks fall on profit-taking
By Hope Yen
Associated PressThe main indexes fluctuated between advances and losses for much of the day as investors gauged whether the market could build on three weeks of strong gains. Traders also were hesitant to commit to stocks while they awaited key economic reports due out later in the week.
"The market is apparently taking a little bit of a breather here," said Charles G. Crane, strategist for Victory SBSF Capital Management. "There were no particularly important economic statistics released today. We got through the bulk of the earnings season.
"So I think investors came into work today thinking what might happen with the elections next week and what has happened with the market the last three weeks," he said.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers 8 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was moderate.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 75.95, or 0.9 percent, to close at 8,368.04 having gained 1.5 percent last week. Earlier in the day, the blue chips gained as much as 87 points.
The broader market also finished lower. The Nasdaq composite index declined 15.32, or 1.2 percent, to 1,315.81, after climbing 3.4 percent last week. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 7.43, or 0.8 percent, to 890.22, after last week's 1.5 percent gain. The Russell 2000 index fell 3.63, or 1 percent, to 369.01. It gained 2.6 percent last week.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was up 1/32 point today, while its yield held steady at 4.09 percent. Two-year Treasury notes were up 1/8 point and yielded 1.91 percent, down from 1.98 percent Friday.
Analysts say investors are more upbeat about stocks following three weeks of gains on better-than-expected earnings. Since hitting a five-year low on Oct. 9, the Dow has climbed more than 1,100 points.
Decliners included Kellogg, which fell $2.13 to $33.02, after the cereal maker beat third-quarter earnings estimates but said it expected to earn between $1.86 and $1.90 per share for 2003. Analysts were expecting $1.90 per share.
The news pressured other consumer staple companies, including Procter & Gamble, which dropped $2.90 to $85.80, and PepsiCo, which declined $1.08 to $43.11.
Health care company Humana fell 87 cents to $13.03 after posting third-quarter earnings that met analysts' expectations.
Gainers included Citigroup, which rose 60 cents to $36.30, after Lehman Brothers raised the bank's stock rating to "overweight," the equivalent of a "buy" rating.
American Express climbed $1.12 to $34.25 after the finance company reported a strong rise in third-quarter profits, beating Wall Street's estimates.
Hewlett-Packard gained 66 cents to $15.28 after Lehman Brothers upgraded the computer maker's stock to "overweight."
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished up 0.4 percent. In Europe, France's CAC-40 was up 2.1 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1 percent, Germany's DAX index jumped 2.7 percent.