Posted on: Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Session closes lower as oil dominates news
By Michael J. martinez
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Profit-taking sent stocks modestly lower yesterday after oil prices topped $55 a barrel and a disappointing earnings update from Texas Instruments Inc. cast fresh doubts on the tech sector.
"Because of the lack of other news, oil becomes the big news," said Brian Bruce, director of global investments at PanAgora Asset Management Inc. in Boston.
Tech stocks slipped after gaining ground in Monday's session, with semiconductor stocks leading the way after Texas Instruments cut its earnings forecasts
Bonds fell along with stocks, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.38 percent from 4.31 percent late Monday. Gold prices moved higher, while the dollar dropped sharply against the euro and the yen
"It's like the ghosts of Christmas past — oil and the dollar," said Bryan Piskorowski, market analyst at Wachovia Securities. "But given that we're fairly steady, just a little lower, that's a good thing. Given the market's recent gains, a little bit of paring shouldn't come as a complete surprise."
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by nearly 8 to 5 on the Big Board, where consolidated volume came to 2.02 billion shares, compared with 1.97 billion on Monday.
In a session with little economic or earnings news, the sharp rise in oil prices dominated trading. Crude oil futures rose above $55 for the first time in more than four months before slipping lower at the end of trading. A barrel of light crude settled at $54.59, up 70 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
