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NEW YORK -- Wall Street plunged back into pessimism, sending stocks sharply lower today after Nortel Networks, Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard warned that their business will further slow this year. A spike in inflation and military action in the Middle East increased the market's woes. Dow falls 91.20
Associated Press
After a session of heavy trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 91.20 to close at 10,799.82. The tech-focused Nasdaq composite index tumbled 127.50 to 2,425.41, a 5 percent drop, after advancing in the previous two sessions. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 25.07 to 1,301.54.
Decliners outnumbered advancers nearly 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,911 down, 1,136 up and 216 unchanged. Volume was 1.24 billion shares vs. 1.13 billion yesterday. The NYSE composite index fell 6.57 to 647.88, the American Stock Exchange composite index lost 4.50 to 929.47 and the Russell 2000 index dropped 9.57 to 499.28. The Treasury's 10-year note rose 13/32 to 99 5/2; its yield fell 5 basis points to 5.11 percent. The 30-year bond gained 12/32 to 98; its yield fell 3 basis points to 5.46 percent.
Investors also bid stocks lower on a Labor Department report that wholesale inflation rose 1.1 percent in January, the biggest jump in a decade. The spike could diminish the chances that the Federal Reserve Board will lower interest rates at its meeting next month. "It gave everyone the fear that the Fed will have to worry about inflation and won't be able to ease rates as much," said Dan Ascani of Global Market Strategists in Gainesville, Ga.