Stocks mixed following
weak economic data

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By Amy Baldwin
Associated Press

NEW YORK >> Investors paused today, taking some profits and keeping buying to a minimum following the latest batch of discouraging economic data. The market was mixed but easily managed to end the month higher, a feat not seen since spring.

While stocks struggled today, analysts said investors are still feeling upbeat after the market's three-week rally on better-than-expected earnings news and have growing hopes the bear market was over. It was the Dow Jones industrial average's second-best October on record.

"What is important to remember is that October has frequently been a bear market killer. That is to say, that bear markets have ended in October," said Alan Ackerman, executive vice president at Fahnestock & Co. "It is too early to tell if that is the case" this time.

Advancing issues narrowly outnumbered decliners 7 to 6 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was light. The Dow closed down 30.38, or 0.4 percent, at 8,397.03.

The market's broader indicators were mixed. The Nasdaq composite index rose 3.05, or 0.2 percent, to 1,329.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.94, or 0.6 percent, to 885.77. The Russell 2000 index, the barometer of smaller company stocks, fell 0.68, or 0.2 percent, to 373.49.

For the month, the Dow rose 10.6 percent but came in behind the 13.8 percent gain of October 1987. For the month, the Nasdaq rose 13.5 percent and the S&P advanced 8.7 percent. The last time Wall Street's gauges ended a month higher was March.

But October's gains failed to lift the market from dreadful lows reached earlier this year. The Dow has a year-to-date loss of 16.2 percent, while the Nasdaq has plunged 31.8 percent and the S&P has slid 22.9 percent.

The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was up 19/32 point today, while its yield slipped to 3.89 percent from 3.96 percent yesterday. Two-year Treasury notes were up 1/8 point and yielded 1.67 percent, down from 1.74 percent yesterday.

Today's economic news was somewhat disappointing and gave investors reasons to be cautious. The Commerce Department report that the U.S. economy grew at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the summer, while brisk, was short of the 3.6 percent clip that analysts had expected.

And the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago reported that its index of business activity fell to 45.9 in October. It was the second straight month with a reading below 50, which indicates contraction in the economy.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished down 1.3 percent. In Europe, France's CAC-40 rose 2.1, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.9 percent, and Germany's DAX advanced 1.3 percent.