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To: pallmer who wrote (4293)	12/24/2002 12:42:15 PM
From: pallmer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29596

-- U.S. stocks fall after economic data renews worries -- (Recasts, updates to late in short pre-holiday session) By Vivian Chu NEW YORK, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Disappointing news about the condition of the U.S. economy weighed on Tuesday's light pre-Christmas stock trading, renewing fears about the country's business spending. Stock markets are scheduled to close early at 1 p.m. <1800 GMT> and will be closed on Wednesday for Christmas. Trading floors were quiet, as many fund managers and traders took the day off or left work early before the Christmas holiday, traders said. Stocks fell after the Commerce Department reported that orders for durable goods -- costly items intended to last three years or more -- slid 1.4 percent in November after a revised 1.7 percent gain in October. The report, which showed drops in orders for most categories of durable goods, was much weaker than Wall Street had expected. Economists polled by Reuters were looking for a 0.7 percent gain. The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 25 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,468. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> declined 3 points, or 0.35 percent, to 894. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 7 points, or 0.52 percent, to 1,375. "It is very quiet today. The market's down a little on thin trading and an early close," said Todd Leone, head of listed trading at S.G. Cowen in New York. Still, investors remain concerned about a potential war with Iraq and soaring oil prices, Leone said. "I don't think people are buying anything because of oil, which is up so high, and it's negating the low interest rate environment," Leone said. In New York, crude oil for February delivery peaked in early trade at $32 a barrel, its highest price since January 2001. Sun Microsystems <SUNW.O> shares rose 6 percent a day after a key legal victory. But a gloomy sales report from discount retail chain Target Corp. <TGT.N> on Monday hurt sentiment for retail stocks. The Standard & Poor's Retailing Index <.GSPMS> fell 0.37 percent. "It's light volume and lack of liquidity today. There's a holiday type of atmosphere," said Robert Basel, senior trader at Salomon Smith Barney. "Most places are 50 to 70 percent their usual staff levels." SUN SHINES, BUT TARGET MISSES MARK Sun Microsystems, the most actively traded issue on the Nasdaq, advanced 17 cents to $3.14, after hitting a high of $3.36 earlier in the session. On Monday, Sun won a big legal victory after a federal judge ordered Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, to distribute Sun's Java programming in Microsoft's Windows operating system. Microsoft Corp.<MSFT.O> stock was unchanged at $54. Target Corp. came under scrutiny after the discount retailer said late on Monday that sales in its stores open longer than a year were "well below plan" last week. Target's stock fell 0.8 percent, or 24 cents, to $28.30, off a low of $27.65 earlier in the morning. On Tuesday, investment bank Goldman Sachs trimmed its earnings forecasts for Circuit City <CC.N>, RadioShack Corp <RSH.N> and Toys R Us <TOY.N>, citing signs of sluggish sales from other retailers. The investment bank also cut its earnings estimates for Wal-Mart Stores <WMT.N> and Federated Department Stores Inc. <FD.N>. Ultimate Electronics <ULTE.O> tumbled $1.50, or nearly 14 percent, to $9.55 after the consumer electronics retailer slashed its fourth-quarter estimates, citing a decline in big-ticket holiday purchases. Drugmakers Amgen Inc. <AMGN.O> and Wyeth <WYE.N> gained after saying U.S. regulators had approved a new manufacturing plant that could help ease shortages of their popular arthritis treatment Enbrel. Amgen shares dipped 1 cent to $51.63, while Wyeth advanced 15 cents to $38. (Additional reporting by Doris Frankel in Chicago) ((Reporting by Vivian Chu; editing by Jan Paschal; Reuters Messaging: vivian.chu.reuters.com@reuters.net; 646-223-6026)) ((Xtra clients: Click on topnews.session.rservices.com to see Top News pages in multimedia Web format. If you cannot access the pages, ask your IT department to check your Internet firewall settings. For a technical advisory, click on <C9991>.)) (C) Reuters 2002. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.