General Electric fell for a second day after Pacific Investment Management Co.'s Bill Gross, who runs the world's biggest bond fund, said its finance arm had too much debt and the company relied too much on acquisitions for earnings growth.

The Dow declined 42.28, or

0.4 percent, to 10,459.29. Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 0.33 to 1151.52, or 1.1 percent.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 23.58, or 1.3 percent, to 1856.45, led by Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp.

Some 1 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange by 3 p.m. in New York, up 8.7 percent from a week ago. Advancing and declining stocks were about equal on the Big Board.

General Electric lost $1.78 to $37.02; its two-day decline of

7.2 percent is the worst since September. The company, one of nine U.S. companies with the highest "AAA" rating assigned by Moody's Investors Service, said it plans to sell more bonds to allay concerns its finance unit is too reliant on short-term debt.

Gross said his firm, a unit of German insurer Allianz AG, sold $1 billion of GE Capital short-term IOUs because its debt level is "extreme."

Shares of companies such as Tyco International Ltd. have tumbled as the collapse of Enron Corp. triggered doubts that diversified businesses have used accounting to overstate earnings.

GE "is one of the names that was originally brought up because investors can't understand it," Mayer said, though he added that he thinks the company's accounting is sound. Gross' complaints were about debt levels, not accounting, Mayer said.

Tyco, down 44 percent this year, fell $1.34 to $32.95. Qwest Communications International Inc., which has fallen on concern it may have improperly booked sales of fiber-optic capacity, slid 38 cents to $8.52.

Intel, the largest chipmaker, gained 89 cents to $31.42. Microsoft, the biggest software maker, climbed 85 cents to $60.95.

Investors drove shares of the biggest sellers of cigarettes and sodas higher. Philip Morris Cos., the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, rose 93 cents to $52.96 and added the most to the Dow. Coca-Cola Co. rose 89 cents to $50.30.

Coca-Cola could rise as high as $60 in coming months as sales improve in North America and Europe and remain strong in Asia, said Lehman analyst Michael Branca. He rates the company "strong buy."

Apple Computer fell 65 cents to $24.27 after J.P. Morgan Chase lowered its 2002 earnings estimates on the company. Additionally, Apple announced it was raising prices on its new iMac computers by $100 each, citing an increase in component costs.

Some analysts said a decline in the broader market was to be expected following stocks' solid advance beginning in February. The Dow has had five weeks of gains.

"Investors have gotten too bullish, and whenever the market reaches excessive levels there is some pullback," said Gary Kaltbaum, market technician for Investors' Edge Partners.

The Russell 2000 index, the barometer of smaller company stocks, advanced 6.40, or 1.3 percent, to 505.44.

Stocks were lower in Europe as France's CAC-40 lost 0.5 percent, while Germany's DAX index and Britain's FT-SE 100 each declined 0.3 percent.