NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrials ended in the minus column today, but not before mounting a dramatic rebound effort that took the blue-chip index up as much as 20 points in the final hour of trading. Dow drops 25.91
The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 25.91 points at 8,846.89. The Dow got as low as 8,820.99, this morning, after a government report indicated that corporate profits fell in last year's final quarter. Traders briefly took the blue-chip index 20 points into positive territory late in the session, to 8,892.98, but they couldn't hold it there.
Decliners led advancers by 1,506 to 1,488 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 510 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 598.43 million shares vs. 663.13 million yesterday
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list fell 1.12 to 1,100.80, and the NYSE composite index fell 0.55 to 572.21. The Nasdaq composite index rose 4.03 to 1,828.54, and the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 2.50 to 739.39. The Russell 2000 index gained 0.67 to end at 477.81.
The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond fell 13/32 point, or $4.06 per $1,000 in face value, by late afternoon, while its yield rose to 5.97 percent from 5.94 percent late yesterday.
Investors seemed almost relieved to see the rip-roaring stock market slow down just a bit.
"I think today's market could be characterized as just a simple, small retracement," said Ned Riley, chief investment officer at BankBoston, "a very good consolidation considering the substantial appreciation that's been realized since the beginning of the year, and in 1997 and 1996."