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NEW YORK -- Wall Street spent today wondering how to turn the unresolved presidential election to its advantage, but stocks ended a choppy session mostly lower amid the continuing political uncertainty. Dow falls 45;
Nasdaq drops 184Associated Press
With the election outcome hinging on a vote recount in Florida, investors returned to their recent trading pattern, focusing on and selling high-tech issues.
The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index closed down 184.09, or 5.4 percent, at 3,231.70. The Dow Jones industrial average, unable to hold its gains, fell 45.12 to 10,907.06 after briefly hitting 11,000 earlier. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 22.59 to 1,409.28. Decliners barely led advancers with 1,477 down, 1,301 up and 515 unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 891 million shares, up from 874 million yesterday.
The NYSE composite index slipped 2.72 to 661.80; the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 1..53 to 920.63; the Russell 2000 index slipped 5.33 points to end at 500.68.
The 10-year Treasury note's price was up 3/32 point, or 94 cents per $1,000 in face value; its yield fell to 5.85 percent from 5.86 percent late yesterday. The 30-year bonds were up point and its yield hovered around 5.87 percent, down from 5.90 percent .
Investors who have been trading carefully since Friday in anticipation of Election Day weren't sure where to invest given the undecided presidency.
Technology issues moved lower as investors remained uneasy about future profits. Investors began dumping tech stocks in September, before a litany of companies announced disappointing earnings and lowered their expectations for the current quarter.