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NEW YORK - Blue chips fell on profit-taking while tech stocks drifted higher today, amid investors' concerns about third-quarter corporate earnings and the direction the market itself is headed. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 51.05 at 11,182.18 but the Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 2.92 to 1,484.91 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 44.38 to 3,893.89. The numbers were a reversal of yesterday's close, when blue chips ended the day up and tech stocks fell. Dow off 51.05
Associated Press
"It's hard to pin it all one stock, but I'd have to say (the) J.P. Morgan (acquisition by Chase Manhattan) was the biggest drag on the Dow today," said analyst Arthur Hogan of Jefferies & Co. "The Nasdaq stocks, which were very oversold, had a nice rally today."
Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 6-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,382 up, 1,450 down and 515 unchanged. Volume was 1.07 billion shares, ahead of 981.38 million yesterday. The NYSE composite index fell 0.62 to 675.22, the American Stock Exchange composite index dropped 6.86 to 963.55 and the Russell 2000 index rose 1.57 to 534.00. The 30-year Treasury bond rose 9/32 to 107 11/32; its yield fell 2 basis points to 5.73 percent.
Knight Trading Group, a leading market maker, was up $6.63 at $36.06, more than 23 percent, on speculation that it might be the next takeover target. SCI Systems was off $9.94 at $46, a 17 percent decline, after the electronics manufacturer said its quarterly results would fall below expectations. Intel fell $3.69 to $61.25 after a Banc of America Securities analyst cut his rating to "market perform" from "strong buy."