NEW YORK >> Stocks closed mixed in quiet pre-holiday trading yesterday as mildly encouraging economic news helped offset retailers' reports of disappointing sales. Little market direction
during holiday weekBy Adam Geller
Associated PressCitigroup's announcement of a huge earnings charge also held the market back.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 18.03, or 0.2 percent, at 8,493.29. That followed a gain of nearly 146 points on Friday.
The broader market rose. The Nasdaq composite index gained 18.64, or 1.4 percent, to close at 1,381.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.62, or 0.2 percent, to 897.38.
Declining issues narrowly outnumbered advancers by about 11 to 10 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume on the floor of the Big Board came to 1.09 billion shares as of 4 p.m., down from 1.78 billion in the previous session.
The Russell 2000 index, a barometer of smaller company stocks, rose 2.85, or 0.7 percent, to 389.73. The NYSE composite index gained 0.05 to 479.27. The American Stock Exchange composite index climbed 2.28 to 829.10.
Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the market's performance, noting that the mid-week Christmas holiday was leading many traders and investors to take a few days' vacation.
"Behind all this is very, very little volume," said Chris Wolfe, chief equity strategist with the J.P. Morgan private bank. "Today and tomorrow probably aren't indicative of a lot of position-taking by institutions or others."
Wolfe and other analysts said those still in the market were likely troubled by announcements from several retailers Monday that holiday sales are continuing to fall short of expectations.
"Retailers are getting slammed and they're getting slammed for a reason," said Russ Koesterich, U.S. equity strategist at State Street Corp. in Boston.
Investors could find limited reassurance in some mildly upbeat news about consumer behavior. But analysts said the market might continue to drift without more upbeat news.
The Commerce Department reported that consumers increased their spending by 0.5 percent in November, the biggest advance in four months. The report, which also noted a rise in personal income, bolstered optimism that consumers will continue spending enough to keep the economic recovery going.
Citigroup fell after the company said its quarterly earnings would be reduced by $1.5 billion to pay for the costs of settling charges of biased stock research, and to cover eventual regulatory and court verdicts related to its dealings with Enron. The stock fell 46 cents to $37.68.
Federated Department Stores fell $1.08 to $27.84, after the company said its holiday season will fall short of its forecasts. Wal-Mart declined $1.20 to $49.59 after saying sales last week were at the low end of its expectations. J.C. Penney, which also reported lackluster sales growth, fell $1.49 to $22.33.
Yahoo rose 65 cents to $17.73, after the company said it will buy Inktomi for $235 million.
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