Investors throw in the
towel as stocks plunge

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Associated Press

NEW YORK >> A string of bad news -- including profit warnings from Dell Computer and Gap, job cuts by Ford Motor, an appeals court decision against Microsoft and a sharp decline in sales of U.S. goods abroad -- combined to pummel Wall Street today.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 200 points before rebounding somewhat late in the session, while the Nasdaq composite index hit a new four-month low. The Dow dropped 151.74, or 1.5 percent, to 10,240.78. The Dow was down 204 points just before the close.

The Nasdaq composite index tumbled 63.30, or 3.3 percent, to 1,867.02, its lowest close since it ended at 1,852.03 on April 10. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 19.69, or 1.7 percent, to 1,161.97.

Decliners outnumbered advancers more than 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,916 down, 1,139 up and 212 unchanged. Volume was 967.85 million shares vs. 1.06 billion shares yesterday.

The NYSE composite index fell 7.18 to 599.18, the American Stock Exchange composite index slipped 2.63 to 884.68 and the Russell 2000 index lost 6.03 to 475.65.

The Treasury's 10-year note rose 25/32 to 101-1/4; its yield fell 10 basis points to 4.84 percent. The 30-year bond gained 3/4 to 99-9/32; its yield fell 5 basis points to 5.42 percent.

Among Wall Street's losers was Microsoft, both a Dow industrial and Nasdaq stock, which fell $2.74 to $61.88 after a federal appeals court denied the software giant's request to delay its antitrust case.

The stock losses were also spurred by a report that the U.S. trade deficit widened in June as sales of American-made goods to other countries declined by a larger amount than imports. The Commerce Department said the trade imbalance rose 3.3 percent to $29.4 billion in June, matching many analysts' expectations.

Meanwhile, Dell declined $2.38 to $23 after issuing a profit warning yesterday for the third quarter and saying that it doesn't expect demand to pick back up until next spring.

Gap, which also warned of smaller-than-expected third-quarter profits, fell $1.92 to $21.43. The clothing retailer's stock was also downgraded by Merrill Lynch, Prudential Securities and Credit Suisse First Boston.

Ford fell $1.77 to $21.70 after announcing it will eliminate up to 5,000 salaried jobs and warning its full year earnings will fall short of expectations.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan's midmonth report on consumer sentiment for August rose to 93.5 from 92.4 in July.