Dow Off 22 as Investors Lose Confidence

The stock market took a late turn lower after trading was mixed for most of today’s session.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials lost 22.03 points to close at 2,494.06.

Advancing issues narrowly outnumbered decliners by about 7 to 6 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 805 up, 688 down and 466 unchanged.

Big Board volume totaled 146.30 million shares, against 152.65 million in the previous session.

The NYSE’s composite index lost 1.03 to 170.50. At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index stood at 292.97, up 0.74.

Prices opened on a soft note, as analysts had expected, with the continuation of selected profit-taking following the sharp runup in equities late last week.

Dealers generally were selling blue-chip issues in favor of secondary stocks, as evidenced by a slight advance in the broader market.

But the market turned decidedly lower about a half hour before the closing bell. Investors appeared to lose confidence in the face of a passel of negative factors, including the lack of a resolution to the budget talks in Washington, lower corporate earnings and the ongoing Middle East crisis.

Despite the downward move, trading was quiet. “The market looks tired,” said Emmanuel Geronimous, a vice president at Lehman Brothers Inc. He said most traders “can’t get a handle on the market.”

Traders discounted a further erosion in oil prices on the notion that crude could spike back up at a moment’s notice. Government bond prices were slightly lower today at midday in a quiet market that lacked much market-moving news.

The closely watched 30-year bond was down 5/16 points, or about $3.12 per $1,000 in face amount. Its yield, which moves inversely to the price, rose to 8.78% from 8.75% late Monday.