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Nasdaq hits record;
Associated Press
Dow falls 71.36NEW YORK -- The Nasdaq composite index rose to a record today even as investors punished Microsoft Corp. for a profit report that met published estimates but failed to impress some Wall Street analysts.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 71.36 to 11,489.36. The Nasdaq composite rose 20.48 to 4,151.29, its first record since it closed at 4,131.15 on Jan. 3. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.76 to 1,455.90. Advancers barely beat decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,513 up, 1,504 down and 500 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 1.06 billion shares vs. 1.01 billion yesterday. The NYSE composite index rose 1.45 to 645.37, the American Stock Exchange composite index gained 4.23 to 890.57 and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.56 to 520.02. The 30-year bond rose 10/32, or $3.75 per $1,000 face amount, to a price of 92 13/32. The yield fell 3 basis points to 6.72 percent and moved farther away from the 6.78 percent level reached in intraday trading yesterday, the highest since June 1997.
Microsoft contributed most to the Dow's decline as it tumbled $8.31 to $107. Late yesterday, the company said it earned $2.44 billion, or 44 cents per share, in its fiscal second quarter, compared to the 42 cents predicted by analysts. But traders said Microsoft's "whisper number" -- an unofficial prediction circulated on the Internet and on trading floors -- was as high as 49 cents per share, setting up some investors for disappointment.