NEW YORK >> Weaker outlooks for IBM, Bristol-Myers and Best Buy raised Wall Street's skepticism about a business recovery today and sent stock prices falling. The beleaguered technology sector endured the sharpest decline, with the Nasdaq composite index sliding 3.1 percent to its lowest close in a month. Middle East, earnings
warnings sink stocksBy Amy Baldwin
Associated PressA drop in U.S. factory orders and rising tensions in the Middle East gave investors more incentive to sell.
"This is definitely a period of time when investors might want to stay on the sidelines. And, based on the low (trading) volume we have been seeing, that is exactly what some investors are doing," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 48.99 at 10,313.71, marking the index's third consecutive losing session. The broader market experienced a steeper decline. The Nasdaq fell 58.22 to 1,804.40. The last time the Nasdaq finished lower was March 1, when it closed at 1,802.74. The Standard & Poor's 500 index decreased 9.78 to 1,136.76.
Decliners edged advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,658 down, 1,508 up and 198 unchanged. Volume was 1.16 billion shares.
The NYSE composite index fell 2.06 to 596.32, the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 1.10 to 915.85 and the Russell 2000 index fell 4.01 to 500.49.
The Treasury's 2-year note rose 532 to 100; its yield fell 9 basis points to 3.62 percent. The 10-year note gained 1832 to 96 1332; its yield lost 8 basis points to 5.35 percent. The 30-year bond rose 34 to 94 1432; its yield fell 6 basis points to 5.77 percent.
Technology, the last sector most analysts expect to emerge from the recession, suffered the bulk of today's selling. IBM fell $1.85 to $101.01 after Goldman Sachs cut its first-quarter revenue estimate, saying in a research note that IBM's first quarter "got off to a slow start."
"Techs aren't showing the earnings bounce investors were looking for. This coupled with higher energy prices and further concern about conflict in the Middle East hasn't given Wall Street a lot to smile about," said Thomas F. Lydon Jr., president of Global Trends Investments in Newport Beach, Calif.
Other tech losers included Microsoft, down $2.93 at $57.45, and Intel, off $1.14 at $30.03.
Among blue chips, Bristol-Myers fell $2.16 to $38.24 the day after it forecast that revenue will slump this year because wholesalers loaded up on its drugs in 2001.
Best Buy dropped $4.47 to $75.01 on a disappointing outlook for the fiscal first quarter when it expects to earn about 30 cents to 32 cents a share. Analysts were expecting 34 cents. Best Buy posted fourth-quarter results today that were a penny a share higher than Wall Street had anticipated.
Today's slump was also due in part to a Commerce Department report that said orders to U.S. factories declined by 0.1 percent in February amid slumping demand for computers and cars.