Wednesday September 5, 3:06 pm Eastern Time
U.S. blue chips claw higher after Microsoft
(UPDATE: Updates with gains)
NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Blue chips swung into positive ground in late afternoon trading on Wednesday as software giant Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) stood by its earnings and sales guidance, but techs remained pressured by fears the soft economy would slam profits at companies like cell phone maker Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - news).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The technology-heavy index Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC - news) lost 9.08 points, or 0.51 percent, to 1,761.70, after falling more than 3 percent earlier and then dabbling in positive territory after Microsoft reaffirmed its expectations for full-year revenues and earnings per share.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI - news) gained 26.99 points, or 0.27 percent, to 10,024.48, after losing more than 1 percent earlier. Microsoft, a Dow member and Nasdaq heavyweight, jumped $1.37 to $57.47. The broader S&P 500 (^SPX - news)
shed 0.91 points, or 0.08 percent, to 1,132.03.
Wall Street, burned in prior months after trying to predict the market's bottom, was fearful of making big bets ahead of a period that could bring another downpour of corporate profit warnings. Historically, September has been the worst-performing month for the stock market over the last 50 years.
Motorola dropped $1.21 to $16.28 after Wall Street house Merrill Lynch cut its investment rating on the wireless technology giant to ``neutral'' from ``accumulate,'' citing ``prolonged'' weakness in the company's major markets. |
