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Wall Street Stocks End Lower
Wall Street Stocks End Lower
Wall Street stocks ended lower Tuesday following the steep losses on Monday, as investors were still cautious about the economy and corporate earnings outlook after the markets closed for four sessions last week because of the terrorist attacks on America.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.30 points, or 0.19 percent, to 8,903.40, the lowest close in nearly three years. The index tumbled 684.81 points on Monday, the largest fall in its history.
Broader stock indicators were down. The technology heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 24.47 points, or 1.55 percent, to 1,555.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was off 6.03 points, or 0.58 percent, to 1,032.74.
The markets rallied in morning session amid investors' buying, which sent the Dow index rising more than 100 points above the 9, 000 resistance level early afternoon, after the Dow plunged 684.81 points, the largest fall in its history, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 115.82 points, sending U.S. stocks into a bear market on Monday.
However, investors still worried about the economy and corporate earnings as airline and insurance companies, which plummeted on Monday, face possible bankruptcies in the wake of the attacks.
The insurance and financial companies fell further, with American International Group declining 95 cents to 70.05 dollars, and American Express dropping 2.87 dollars to 27.38 dollars after it issued a third-quarter warning.
But airlines rebounded in hope for the government's support after tumbling on Monday. AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, rose 2 dollars to 20 dollars, and UAL Corp., the parent of United Airlines, advanced 1.49 dollars to 18.99 dollars.
The NYSE index closed down 3.62 points at 538.37, the American Stock Exchange index lost 15.36 points to 837.52, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slipped 6.01 points to 411.66.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 8-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,224 up, 1,936 down and 181 unchanged.
NYSE volume declined to 1.67 billion shares from 2.36 billion in the previous session.
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