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NEW YORK -- Stocks closed mixed today amid lingering gloom on Wall Street about corporate profits and higher oil prices. The uncertainty ended a two-day rally in the tech sector. Investors again unloaded stocks of companies that issued warnings of disappointing profits. Tech and brokerage firms were among the hardest hit. Nasdaq falls 68.56;
Dow up 77.60Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 77.60 to 10,765.52. The buying represented a shift away from the downward momentum of the past few sessions. But broader indicators were lower. The Nasdaq composite index fell 68.56, or 1.76 percent, to 3,828.88 and the Standard & Poor's 500 was off 2.29 at 1,449.05. Decliners led advancers by an 8-to-5 margin with 1,724 down, 1,065 up and 542 unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange, Volume was 1.09 billion shares compared with yesterday's 1.11 billion. The NYSE composite index rose 0.39 points to close at 654.23; the American Stock Exchange composite index sank 9.02 to 927.75; and the Russell 2000 index dropped 7.07 to 514.36.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was up 11/32 point, or $3.05 per $1,000 in face value; its yield fell to 5.84 percent from 5.89 percent late yesterday. The 30-year bonds were up 20/32 point and its yield fell to 5.93 percent, from 5.95 late yesterday.
Investors boosted Hertz $7.38 to $31.63 on news that Ford Motor Co. wants to buy all of the car rental company's remaining stock that Ford does not already own.
Rising oil prices also have investors worried. The price of a barrel on crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was $36.33, down from the $37 range it reached in recent days, but still at levels not seen in a decade.
Tire maker Goodyear fell $2.88 to $18.13 after the company warned that its quarterly earnings would be sluggish because of higher oil prices and the weak euro.