NEW YORK >> Disappointing earnings from Micron Technology prompted a sell-off on Wall Street today, as investors unloaded stocks on renewed anxiety about the strength of corporate profits. Corporate news
sinks stocksBy Hope Yen
Associated PressAnalysts said investors were remaining cautious about committing to the market, particularly after an eight-week blue-chip rally in the autumn that some believe came too fast. Light trading volume also contributed to exaggerated price swings.
"With the lack of a real catalyst, it doesn't take much news positive or negative to move the market," said Mike Kayes, chief investment officer at Eastover Capital in Charlotte, N.C. "It's going to be in that type of volatile trading range for a while."
Declining issues outnumbered advancers about 5 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was light.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 88.04, or 1 percent, to close at 8,447.35. It fell 92 points on yesterday.
The broader market also fell. The Nasdaq composite index declined 30.57, or 2.2 percent, to 1,361.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 11.87, or 1.3 percent, to 891.12. The Russell 2000 index fell 7.32, or 1.9 percent, to 383.93.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was up 11/16 point, while its yield fell to 4.04 percent from 4.12 percent yesterday. Two-year Treasury notes were up 5/32 point and yielded 1.77 percent, down from 1.87 percent yesterday.
Chip maker Micron Technology fell $3.06, or 23 percent, to $10.22 after reporting a first-quarter loss that was worse than Wall Street expected. The news dragged down other tech stocks, including Intel, which dropped 76 cents to $17.13.
Concerns about a war with Iraq also weighed on the market. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said today there were serious omissions and problems with Iraq's weapons declaration as President Bush pondered the United States' next move.
Stock trading has been choppy in recent days as investors struggle to decide whether to buy on bets of stronger prospects for 2003 or continue to cash in profits from the market's autumn rally.
Investors largely shrugged off an encouraging economic report today. The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit declined to $35.1 billion in October, the best showing in seven months.
Several bearish corporate outlooks hurt stocks.
Blockbuster slid $6.27, or 32.3 percent, to $13.13 after the video store chain lowered its fourth-quarter and year estimates, citing a slowdown in rentals during the holiday season.
Bank of New York declined $4.11, or 15.5 percent, to $22.39 after saying it would take a fourth-quarter charge of $240 million, due largely to its exposure to United Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy protection.
Oracle fell 40 cents to $10.62 ahead of its quarterly earnings report, which was due out after the close of markets today.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 2 percent lower. In Europe, France's CAC-40 lost 2 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 declined 1.9 percent and Germany's DAX index fell 3.7 percent.
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