Dow regains its bluster
Technology stocks battled throughout the day Wednesday before barely nudging the NASDAQ composite up 0.74 points to 1601.12.
The Dow, which managed to stiff-arm the demons lingering from another dismal day of trading in Asia, bounced up 73.92 points to 7724.74. Japan's Nikkei index dropped another 5 percent overnight.
Also, Wednesday's close of 7724.74 is 9 points higher than the close on Oct. 24, the day before the Dow lost 554 points in the biggest single-day point decline in market history.
Intel Corp. was the NASDAQ's most heavily traded issue and managed to scratch up 25 cents per share to $79. IBM picked up $1.25 per share to $103.38 while Advanced Micro Devices Inc. lost 69 cents per share to $21.25. Apple Computer Inc. gained 19 cents per share to $18.35.
No segment took a worse beating than disk-drive manufacturers after Seagate Technology Inc. pre-announced lower earnings for its second fiscal quarter. The announcement sent Seagate's stock into a funk, losing $1.69 per share to $22.63, a new 52-week low. Quantum Corp. dropped $1.56 per share to $26.06 after several brokerage firms lowered ratings on its stock. Western Digital Corp. was unchanged at $22 per share.
Shares of Citrix Systems Inc. plummeted $11.31 per share to $64.81 after company officials said it wouldn't be able to sustain gross profit margins going forward. The developer of client/server software products was one of Wall Street's golden stocks in the past 18 months, rising from $7 per share to $76 per share in that time period.
Among PC makers, Dell Computer Corp. lost $2 per share to $83.13. Compaq Computer Corp. shed $1.19 per share to $64.81 while Gateway 2000 slid 38 cents per share to $29.25.
Shares of Amati Communications Corp. soared $4.56 per share to $19.75 after Texas Instruments Inc. said it would buy the company for at least $395 million. Texas Instruments shares were off 56 cents to $98.06.
Informix Corp. shares continued to collapse after the company reported a $110 million loss in its third quarter as well as several restatements of past earnings and revenue figures. The stock closed down $1.06 per share to $6.97.
Microsoft Corp. shares gained 75 cents to $134.75. Sun Microsystems Inc. picked up 44 cents per share to $35.50.
Investors looking for a turnaround at Applied Materials Inc. sent the stock up 44 cents per share to $34.94 in expectation of better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, which will be released after the market closes Thursday.
Internet stocks got slapped around as Yahoo! Inc. lost $1.50 per share to $50.25. Excite Inc. dipped $1.31 per share to $25.88 while E*Trade Group Inc. shares lost 94 cents to $23.56.