NEW YORK >> Doubtful that the economy will turn around anytime soon, investors pushed stocks lower today, knocking the Nasdaq composite index to its lowest level since April. Industrial output
improves but stocks
decline anywayAssociated Press
Blue-chips fell on a report that industrial production in July slipped for the 10th straight month, although the loss was smaller than expected. Meanwhile, tech stocks stumbled on a range of news in the semiconductor sector.
After being continuously disappointed by companies' second-quarter earnings results and hearing a litany of profit warnings for the current quarter, investors aren't ready to make major commitments on Wall Street, analysts said.
More than any news event, investors' lack of confidence in the market was responsible for today's decline and lighter-than-normal trading volume.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 66.22 at 10,345.95. The Nasdaq fell 45.64 to 1,918.89, its lowest close since April 16 when the index ended at 1,909.57 and its seventh loss in the past eight sessions. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 8.71 to 1,178.02.
Despite the decline in the major indexes, advancing issues outnumbered decliners 16 to 15 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,599 up, 1,471 down and 229 unchanged. Volume was 1.05 billion shares vs. 960.22 million yesterday.
The NYSE composite index fell 1.64 to 605.90, the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 5.16 to 886.97 and the Russell 2000 index lost 1.24 to 478.95. The Treasury's 10-year note fell 1/4 to 100-1/32; its yield rose 3 basis points to 5.0 percent. The 30-year bond fell 1/8 to 97-31/32; its yield rose 1 basis point to 5.51 percent.
Industrial production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities slipped just 0.1 percent in July, a smaller-than-expected decline and a possible indication that the manufacturing sector could be gaining strength. The news pushed the Dow up early before it headed lower later in the day.
"People are disbelieving of anything positive. Period. A year and a half ago, nobody would believe a negative thing, and now we're at a point when nobody believes anything positive," said Scott Bleier, chief investment strategist at Prime Charter Ltd.