Star-Bulletin news services
Bomb, EU fine
lead to volatile tradingThe market is trying to factor
in terrorism acts, trader says
NEW YORK >> Terrorism fears and a record antitrust fine for Microsoft Corp. gave Wall Street another volatile session yesterday, with stocks staggering to a mixed finish after four days of declines.
The market was jolted by a late-morning report that a French railway worker had found a bomb under a passenger line between Paris and Basel, Switzerland, but prices recovered when it became clear that the device had been defused. Yet buyers remained scarce, and only the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index, buoyed by a lift in semiconductor stocks, was able to stay in positive ground.
"I think the market is trying to price in terrorism right now," said Brian Williamson, an equity trader at the Boston Company Asset Management. "That has really been adding into the sell pressure that we've seen in the last few sessions."
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 15.41, or 0.2 percent, to close at 10,048.23, after drifting in and out of positive territory for much of the day.
Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 2.62, or 0.2 percent, to 1,091.33. The Nasdaq added 7.68, or 0.4 percent, to 1,909.48.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note closed down532 point, while its yield rose to 3.71 percent from 3.69 percent Tuesday. Two-year Treasury note prices were unchanged, but their yield fell to 1.46 percent from 1.47 percent.
The European Union fined Microsoft $613 million for abusing its "near monopoly" on the Windows operating system by bundling other software with it in an attempt to thwart competitors. The company also must provide European users with a version of the software without its digital media player, and release its closely guarded code to rivals in the office server market so their products can work more smoothly with Windows.
Microsoft, which has argued that bundling its media player into the operating system benefits consumers, plans to appeal the decision. Its shares advanced 26 cents to $24.41, as some investors welcomed an end to the uncertainty surrounding the case.
Investors were also pleased with an upbeat report from the Commerce Department, which said orders for durable goods rose 2.5 percent last month, more than double what economists expected. The reading far outpaced January's 2.7 percent decline.
The attempted railway bombing outside Paris cast a pall over the market, however, and underscored Wall Street's vulnerability to world events. Still shocked by this month's train bombings in Madrid, the markets were further rattled by Israel's assassination of a Hamas spiritual leader.
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