New York — Earnings worries thwarted the stock market for a second straight session Thursday, making for a choppy and ultimately directionless day on Wall Street.
Analysts said the market is unsure about what to expect when profit reports begin next week. End-of-the-quarter buying and selling by portfolio managers also influenced trading.
Specialist Alphonse Zenna, right, completes trades in shares of Coca-Cola Enterprises on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. As a result of soft North American volume and a competitive pricing environment that limited the Coca-Cola's ability to fully reach planned pricing levels, first-quarter 2001 earnings per share now are expected to range from losses of 19 cents to 21 cents.
The Dow Jones industrial average changed course several times before closing up 13.71 at 9,799.06, but still was fairly steady following Wednesday's 162-point drop.
Technology stocks, which bore the brunt of Wednesday's selling, again suffered the biggest decline, reflecting concerns that the sector's prices remain too high. That led the Nasdaq composite index to give up early gains and close down 33.56 at 1,820.57 its lowest level since November 1998 after a 118-point drop the previous session.
The market's broadest measure, the Standard & Poor's 500, fell 5.34 to 1,147.95.
"It's the same basic problem: earnings," said Larry Wachtel, market analyst at Prudential Securities. "The market is going to act like this until investors have a better of idea of where the economy is headed."
An earnings warning from Coca-Cola Enterprises sent the stock down $3.02 to $18.10, a 14 percent decline. The company bottles beverages for Coca-Cola, which fell $1.43 to $44.52.
International Paper dropped $1.11 to $35.11, after reducing its first-quarter outlook because of weak business conditions.
Technology issues were pulled lower by continuing losses in Nortel Networks, down 50 cents at $13.50, and its rivals, including Lucent, down 89 cents at $9.38. Nortel's warning earlier this week of lower-than-expected earnings and more job cuts cut short a three-day, 558-point winning streak in the Dow.
Among other tech stocks, Intel fell 38 cents to $26.56, Cisco Systems fell 50 cents to $15.25, and JDS Uniphase dropped $2.42 to $17.50.
But drug stocks, a favorite in times of economic weakness, moved higher. Dow component Johnson & Johnson rose $2.10 to $88.38.
"My clients are quite nervous and their confidence has been undermined," said Jack Shaughnessy, chief investment strategist at Advest Inc. "What we need is a stable stock market and for people to stop laying people off."
The market's sour mood reflects a mix of worry about the economy and doubts about when the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next. The Fed, which already has cut rates three times this year, is expected to act again at its mid-May meeting.
Many investors would like to see another reduction before then, but such a move is unlikely unless the economy shows intensifying signs of a slowdown.
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