NEW YORK -- Stocks prices ended mixed, with blue chips slightly lower but technology shares higher, after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan signaled that the Central Bank is not planning any imminent moves on interest rates. Dow slips 8.26
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 8.26 to close at 9,544.42. The blue-chip index swung narrowly all day, as market pundits took stabs at interpreting Greenspan's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.
Decliners led advancers by a 4-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,259 up, 1,715 down and 578 unchanged. NYSE volume was 769.77 million shares vs. 720.6 million yesterday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.96 to 1,271.18, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 34.34 to 2,376.35. The NYSE composite index fell 2.21 to 598.02, and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 0.89 to 700.92. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.18 to 399.00.
The Treasury's 30-year bond price fell 15/16 point, or $9.37-1/2 per $1,000 in face value, while its yield climbed to 5.42 percent from 5.35 percent yesterday.
Blue chips opened weaker and then recovered, only to fall a second time, as bond prices weakened throughout the session. Interest rates rose in the bond market after Greenspan said that while he expects continued growth in the economy, there are still dangers from possible higher inflation and a potential stock market drop.
As for the stock market, Greenspan echoed 1996 warnings about "irrational exuberance," saying that "equity prices are high enough to raise questions about whether shares are overvalued."