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Dow up 3.10;
Associated Press
Nasdaq tumbles 97.50NEW YORK -- Stock prices closed mostly lower today as cautious investors, fearing a pending interest rate hike, fled the technology sector despite strong corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 3.10 at 11,032.99 but broader stock indicators were lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 5.94 to 1,404.09, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 97.50 to 4,069.91.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 4-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,705 down, 1,344 up and 461 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 1.12 billion shares vs. 1.06 billion yesterday. The NYSE composite index rose 3.60 to 628.43, the American Stock Exchange composite index fell 3.15 to 912.21 and the Russell 2000 index fell 0.55 to 521.04. The yield on the benchmark 30-year bond fell to 6.58 percent.
"We saw a fairly big decline in the technology sector. It had been showing signs of cracking, and it really kind of came unglued today," said Ricky Harrington, a technical analyst with Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, N.C.
Market watchers said congressional testimony today by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan gave investors few signals about the direction Fed policy makers are likely to take when they meet to discuss interest rates next week.
"He didn't say anything investors could latch on to one way or another," said Paul McEnroe, a trader at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.