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Dow falls 54.66
Associated PressNEW YORK - Stocks were mixed in a quiet session today after a tame inflation report failed to calm investors' fears that the Federal Reserve will again raise interest rates to force a slowdown in the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 54.66 to close at 10,614.06. For the week, the Dow fell 180.70 points. The Nasdaq composite rose 49.28, or 1.3 percent, to close at 3,874.84, bringing its gain for the week to 61.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 4.72 to 1,456.95. Advancers beat decliners by a 4-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,668 up, 1,185 down and 510 unchanged. NYSE volume was 787.98 million shares vs. 846.02 million yesterday.
The NYSE composite index fell 3.50 to 648.44; the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 1.98 to 939.75; and the Russell 2000 index rose 8.52 to 523.06.
The yield on the Treasury's 10-year note held at 6.12 percent. The 30-year bond price fell 4/32 point, or $1.25 per $1000 in face value; its yield rose to 5.90 percent from 5.89 percent late yesterday.
Stocks initially rose today after the Labor Department reported the Producer Price Index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, held steady in May. Analysts had been expecting an 0.3 percent increase. The flat reading was a result of a drop in energy and food prices, which more than offset increased prices for cars, paper products and books. Excluding the drop in energy and food prices, the "core" rate of inflation at the wholesale level last month rose 0.2 percent, slightly above analysts' forecasts. That troubled some investors.