Posted on: Friday, January 25, 2002

Economic fears persist, limit gains on Wall Street

By Amy Baldwin
Associated Press

NEW YORK — Investors gave blue chips another comfortable boost today but nudged tech shares slightly lower as they dealt with conflicting signals about the economy.

Working in Wall Street's favor were comments yesterday by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who said the recession could soon be over. But with many companies still unable to confirm a pickup in business, the market's gains were limited and, in many cases, were more attributable to bargain hunting than a shift in investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 44.01, or 0.5 percent, at 9,840.08, according to preliminary calculations. The Dow pulled out a three-session winning streak, advancing 65 yesterday on Greenspan's comments and gaining 17 Wednesday due to bargain hunting.

The broader market was narrowly divided. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 4.88, or 0.3 percent, to 1,937.70, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index inched up 1.13, or 0.1 percent, to 1,133.28.

Today, blue chips enjoyed widespread gains, which analysts attributed largely to cheaper prices and somewhat to Green-span's comments. Procter & Gamble rose $1.36 to $79.14, Honeywell climbed $1.10 to $32.70 and Caterpillar gained $1 to $50.10.

Better-than-expected earnings helped other stocks, including Lockheed Martin, up 59 cents at $50.

In tech trading, PMC-Sierra rose $2.29 to $24.15 after reporting a fourth-quarter loss of 15 cents a share, beating estimates by a penny. And, Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the maker of semiconductor equipment.

But disappointing reports and outlooks kept the tech sector from advancing. Fiber optic maker JDS Uniphase fell 73 cents to $7.16 on a wider-than-expected loss.

Computer maker Gateway slid nearly 18 percent, down $1.14 at $5.22, after announcing yesterday it will cut 2,250 jobs and close 19 stores and several offices as it deals with sluggish sales and declining market share.