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Dow loses 265.5;
Associated Press
Nasdaq up 15NEW YORK - Blue-chip stocks fell steeply today after Xerox and a regional banking company issued profit warnings. The warnings resonated throughout the market, sending the Dow to its biggest selloff in two months and reviving fears that rising interest rates will take a toll on corporate profits. Tech stocks were a lone source of strength, helping the Nasdaq finish with modest gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 265.52 points, or 2.5 percent, to close at 10,449.30. It was the Dow's worst performance since its stunning 617-point drop on April 14. Today's decline left the Dow with a loss of 164.76 points for the week. The blue-chip index is down 9 percent this year.
Broader stock indicators held up much better today than the Dow. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 14.14 at 1,464.46, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 14.82 at 3,860.56.
Decliners led advancers by a 5-to-4 margin, with 1,584 down, 1,301 up and 476 unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.21 billion shares, vs. 997.95 million shares yesterday. The "triple-witching" day - marking the quarterly expiration of stock and index options and index futures contracts - contributed to the higher volume.
The NYSE composite index fell 7.76 to 649.68; the American Stock Exchange composite index lost 4.12 to 935.89; but the Russell 2000 index gained 1.49 points to end at 513.74. The 30-year Treasury bond rose 21/32 point, or $6.56 per $1,000 face amount; its yield dropped 6 basis points to an eight-week low of 5.88 percent. The 10-year note rose 17/32 to 103 26/32 as its yield fell 8 basis points to 5.97 percent. The two-year yield dropped 5 basis points to 6.36 while the five-year yield fell 8 basis points to 6.18 percent.