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NEW YORK -- Stocks fell sharply today, led by a slumping technology sector, after an earnings warning by Apple Computer revived anxiety about corporate profits. The decline marked an end to a volatile month. Stocks tried but failed to stay in positive territory as a series of companies including Apple and Intel warned that their profit reports would fall short of expectations. Dow falls 173;
Nasdaq off 105.50Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 173.14 at 10,650.92. The drop nearly wiped out the Dow's nearly 196-point gain yesterday. The Nasdaq composite index fell 105.50 to 3,672.82 and the Standard and Poor's 500 index dropped 21.78 to 1,436.51. Advancers just edged decliners, with 1,454 up, 1,412 down and 441 unchanged. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 1.14 billion shares compared with 1.20 billion yesterday.
The NYSE composite index fell 4.71 to 663.04, the American Stock Exchange composite index jumped 14.51 to 954.31 and the Russell 2000 index was off 2.44 at 521.37. The Treasury's 10-year note rose 2/32 to 99 20/32; its yield fell 1 basis point to 5.80 percent. The 30-year bond fell 1/32 to 105 3/32; its yield was unchanged at 5.88 percent.
"It's just a continuation of what we've seen since Labor Day," said John Shaughnessy, chief investment strategist at Advest. "This is a combination of the concerns about third-quarter earnings reports, the implications of rising oil prices for the economy and corporate profit and the implications of the weak euro."