Stocks Finish Session Mixed
Wall Street struggled for a third consecutive session Wednesday, hurt by a continuing plunge in General Motors shares and by a rebound in oil prices.
In other markets, Treasury bond yields fell on a report of moderating inflation. Despite that report, gold rose more than $10 an ounce.
Stocks tried to find direction all day, and the Dow Jones industrial average ended down 11.68 points, or 0.1%, at 10,674.76.
GM, a Dow stock, slid $1.32 to $21.29, the lowest closing price since 1991. Some analysts said investors are losing confidence in GM Chairman Richard Wagoner’s ability to turn the company around. The stock has tumbled from as high as $35 in August.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes inched higher Wednesday, respectively adding 2.20 points, or 0.2%, to 1,231.21 and 1.19 points, or 0.1%, to 2,187.93.
But falling stocks still outnumbered winners on the New York Stock Exchange and on Nasdaq.
The main economic news was upbeat: The Labor Department reported that consumer prices edged up 0.2% in October, their smallest increase in four months. The news helped to mute inflation concerns, and pushed Treasury bond yields lower.
The 10-year T-note yield fell to its lowest since Oct. 24, at 4.47%, down from 4.56% on Tuesday.
The two-year T-note ended at 4.39%, down from 4.46%.
Some analysts said Treasury bonds also attracted buyers after the Senate approved legislation to overhaul the U.S. corporate pension system. Reforms could force some companies to buy longer-term bonds to fund pension liabilities.
In commodities trading, near-term crude oil futures in New York rose 90 cents to $57.88 a barrel after government data showed that U.S. oil inventories fell by 2.2 million barrels last week, a surprise to traders.
Also in commodities markets, near-term gold futures jumped $10.20 to $478.30 an ounce, nearing their recent 18-year high. Some analysts said investors were adding gold in year-end portfolio diversification moves.
Among the day’s market highlights:
* GM’s woes hurt other auto issues, including Ford Motor, down 19 cents to $7.65, and DaimlerChrysler, off 86 cents to $49.15.
* Many financial stocks were weak. American Express fell 85 cents to $50.08 after the company’s chief executive said several analysts were overestimating fourth-quarter profit based on incorrect assumptions about the firm’s marketing plans, bankruptcy-related writeoffs and spinoff of its brokerage unit.
* Bucking the trend among financial issues, electronic commodities exchange Intercontinental Exchange soared on its first trading day, up $13.25 to $39.25. The Atlanta-based company raised $416 million in its initial public offering.
* Some large technology issues continued their recent rally. Yahoo jumped $2.39 to a five-year high of $40.04 on optimism about Web advertising. Google rose $5.35 to a record $398.15.
Other tech winners included Apple Computer, up $2.67 to $64.95, and National Semiconductor, up 45 cents to $24.64.
* Higher oil prices boosted energy-related shares. Exxon Mobil climbed 75 cents to $57.18, ConocoPhillips gained $1.82 to $64.70 and Halliburton, the oilfield-services company, rose $2.21 to $59.49.
* Abercrombie & Fitch, a casual-clothing retailer for teenagers, gained $4.70 to $61.59. The company said per-share profit for the year would be $3.44 to $3.49, excluding a charge, reflecting higher sales of fleece apparel, T-shirts and jeans. Abercrombie previously projected earnings of as much as $3.30.
* Gold mining stocks rallied with the metal’s price. Barrick Gold jumped $1.22 to $26.49 and Newmont Mining surged $3.01 to $46.05.
* Gilead Sciences, the inventor of Tamiflu, rallied $3.99 to $55.63. Roche Holding will pay $62.5 million to end a dispute over rights to the best-selling avian flu treatment.
* Vodafone fell for a sixth day, off 20 cents to $22. The mobile phone giant sank $2.95 on Tuesday after warning of weaker growth.
