New York — Investors opted for safety again Friday, selling stocks and pushing the Dow Jones industrials below 10,000 as they braced for earnings reports expected to begin in earnest next week.
Wall Street got little comfort from an afternoon speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who said that while the economy was stabilizing, it still faced significant risks. Among the hurdles, Greenspan said, are excessive inventories and slumping demand.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 80.33, or 0.8 percent, at 9,987.53, losing 272.21 points, or 2.7 percent, in the week's five straight losing sessions. The Dow more than erased its 238-point advance from the previous week, when investors had bought up stocks on hopes that the economy would soon rebound.
It was the Dow's first close below 10,000 since Dec. 20.
The broader market also recorded losses for both Friday and the week. The Nasdaq composite index on Friday fell 24.78, or 1.2 percent, to 2,022.46. For the week, the Nasdaq lost 36.92, or 1.8 percent.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index on Friday declined 10.95, or nearly 1 percent, to 1,145.60. The S&P ended the week down 26.91, or 2.3 percent.
Still nervous about earnings and the economy, investors have been selling stocks all week. Before making bigger commitments to stocks, they want to see companies return to profitability.
"You have a market that's stuck in no man's land," said Bryan Piskorowski, market commentator for Prudential Securities. "We are looking for earnings to pick up in the second quarter, but have a few months to work through yet. That is why you are seeing this lackluster trading."
Investors also believe there is room for stock prices to come down, considering how far they've risen since the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The Dow is 17.5 percent above its Sept. 21 low of 8,235.81. The Nasdaq is nearly 30 percent above its low; the S&P 500, up almost 19 percent.
"The market is stuck in a 'What now?' mentality. It is in a process of reconciling the vast gains we have seen ... in the context of an economic recovery. We are looking for an economic recovery," Piskorowski said.
Until earnings growth resumes, other investment professionals say investors are considering how to allocate their assets, wary of focusing too much on technology, which took the biggest bite from their portfolios.
"The average investor doesn't want to get caught in the trap that many were in the late '90s of, 'Let's go with what's hot," said Thomas Lydon Jr., president of Global Trends Investments in Newport Beach, Calif.
Friday's losses were widespread. IBM slipped $1.83 to $120.31, Wal-Mart fell $1.20 to $55.80, and Boeing stumbled $1.15 to $38.69.
Federal Express sank $2.59 to $50.41 after Salomon Smith Barney lowered its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "outperform."
Among gainers, Ford rose 21 cents to $15.50 after announcing a restructuring plan that includes cutting 35,000 jobs, closing five plants and eliminating production of four cars models.
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