NEW YORK >> Investors sent stocks tumbling today for a third straight session on a government report showing the economy eked out only a slim gain in the second quarter, its weakest performance in eight years. While the economy fared better than expected -- some analysts had feared it would be flat or even decline -- investors weren't comforted. After weeks of dismal earnings and negative forecasts from the nation's biggest companies, Wall Street took the report on the gross domestic product as just another reason not to buy. Stocks fall despite
positive GDP in
2nd quarterAssociated Press
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 131.13 at 10,090.90. The Nasdaq composite index fell 21.81 to 1,843.17 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 12.95 to 1,148.56. Decliners beat advancers 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,752 down, 1,368 up and 207 unchanged. Volume was 951.77 million shares vs. 979.65 million yesterday. The NYSE composite index lost 5.31 to 593.53, the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 0.05 to 878.84 and the Russell 2000 index fell 0.86 to 473.34. The Treasury's 10-year note rose 1732 to 101-2732; its yield fell 7 basis points to 4.77 percent. The 30-year bond gained 1932 to 100-532; its yield fell 4 basis points to 5.36 percent.
Investors were disappointed by the Commerce Department's report that the GDP -- the country's total output of goods and services -- rose 0.2 percent in the April-June quarter.
Chip stocks slipped after AMD warned that revenue in the current quarter would likely fall about 15 percent from the previous period, compared to previous projections of 10 to 15 percent losses. AMD fell 66 cents to $14.20. Networking stock Nortel Networks fell 25 cents to $6.52 after WorldCom said it would cut its 2002 capital spending to $6 billion. WorldCom, which fell 53 cents to $12.44, is one of Nortel's most important customers. Also today, Microsoft lost 45 cents to $60.29 on news that the Justice Department had asked the new judge in its antitrust case against the software company to discuss a schedule for moving the case along.
Also, Fiber optics manufacturer Corning said it was cutting 1,000 jobs because it saw a slowing in orders across all fiber product lines. The stock closed down 69 cents at $14.70. And Sun Microsystems Chief Financial Officer Mike Lehman said in a midquarter update that the firm will cut 500 jobs through attrition and that first-quarter orders so far are less than expected and "it would take a very large month of September for us to hit the break-even point." Its quarter ends next month.