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NEW YORK >> Increasingly focused on profits rather than war, investors allowed stocks a tentative nudge higher today, ending a two-day losing streak. The gains were hard-fought, a sign that investors are nervous about first-quarter results and the future. Stocks bounce back
By Amy Baldwin
Associated Press"The real nitty gritty to the earnings season is whether we see a pickup," in upbeat earnings forecasts, said Peter Cardillo, president and chief strategist of Global Partner Securities Inc. in New York.
The market's concern was again corporate performance rather than the war in Iraq. That was the case yesterday when investors sent prices sharply lower despite TV images of allied forces and euphoric Iraqi citizens taking over Baghdad.
Now that success in Iraq seems assured, analysts said investors are looking more closely at earnings, anxious to hear positive results and upbeat assessments for future quarters.
"The attention has shifted back to earnings and fundamentals," Cardillo said.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners nearly 5 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was very light.
The Dow Jones industrials closed up 23.39, or 0.3 percent, at 8,221.33. It was the Dow's first gain in three sessions, following a 100.98-point drop yesterday and Tuesday's decline of 1.49.
The broader market was also higher. The Nasdaq composite index rose 8.87, or 0.7 percent, to 1,365.61. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 5.59, or 0.6 percent, to 871.58. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller company stocks, rose 0.41, or 0.1 percent, to 372.69.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note was down 13/32 point, while its yield rose to 3.95 percent from 3.90 percent yesterday. Two-year Treasury notes were down 5/32 point and yielded 1.60 percent, up from 1.52 percent yesterday.
While the news from Iraq has been good, analysts said many investors had already anticipated the U.S.-led forces would prevail and factored that into stock prices by sending shares higher during recent rallies. That leaves earnings reports, which companies began releasing in earnest this week, as the priority on Wall Street.
"The market has got to get back to reality now, that is (stock) valuation and earnings," said Gary Kaltbaum, president of Investors' Edge Partners, a money management firm in Orlando, Fla.
Better-than-expected quarterly results provided some lift today. First Data rose $1.23 to $35 after posting profits that were 2 cents a share higher than was anticipated.
Yahoo! rose $1.40 to $24.27, the day after reporting earnings that were 2 cents higher than anticipated and raising its 2003 outlook.
But E.W. Scripps fell 89 cents to $78.50 after the media company missed first-quarter earnings expectations by 2 cents a share.
And, retailers were weak after reporting disappointing sales for March as consumer clamped down on spending due to their war jitters. J.C. Penney stumbled 81 cents to $18.08.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished down 1 percent. In Europe, France's CAC-40 fell 2.8 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 declined 1.5 percent and Germany's DAX index lost 1.4 percent.
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