Star-Bulletin news services
Investors seek
safer groundStocks ended lower yesterday
to cap off a losing month
NEW YORK >> Wall Street edged modestly lower yesterday, closing a turbulent quarter on a down note as the government reported weaker-than-expected growth in the manufacturing sector and OPEC signaled it would move ahead with a planned production cut.
The Dow Jones industrials and the Nasdaq composite index ended the first three months of 2004 with losses, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index posted a modest gain. All three gauges fell last month.
Investors sought safer positions after two days of robust gains, and ahead of a much-anticipated jobs report due tomorrow. In addition, the Institute for Supply Management was set to release its report on manufacturing activity today.
"People are a little afraid to step out ahead of those two numbers, especially after the magnitude of these two days of gains," said Russ Koesterich, U.S. equity strategist with State Street Corp. in Boston. "You've had a nice run-up since last week's lows, so it's time to take a little bit off the table."
The Dow closed down 24, or 0.2 percent, at 10,357.70, after adding 222 points in the previous two sessions.
The broader gauges were also fractionally lower. The Nasdaq declined 6.41, or 0.3 percent, to 1,994.22. The S&P 500 lost 0.79, or 0.1 percent, to finish at 1,126.21.
The major indexes started March in positive positions, but a tumultuous correction left them all negative for the month. The Dow sank 2.1 percent, the Nasdaq shed 1.8 percent and the S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent.
Stocks were mixed for the quarter. The Dow gave back 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 0.5 percent, but the S&P 500 advanced 1.3 percent.
The price of the Treasury's 10-year note closed up716 point, while its yield fell to 3.84 percent from 3.89 percent Tuesday. Two-year Treasury notes were up332 point and yielded 1.57 percent, down from 1.62 percent Tuesday.
The Commerce Department reported a 0.3 percent rise in factory orders for February, a welcome bounce after January's 0.9 percent drop, but the rebound wasn't as strong as the 1.5 percent increase economists had forecast.
Demand for "durable" goods -- costly manufactured products such as automobiles, household appliances and computers -- rose by 2.5 percent in February. But "nondurable" goods, such as food and clothing, fell 2 percent.
Economic reports have shown manufacturing improving, but many factories are operating below capacity and jobs are continuing to evaporate.
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