Goldman Sachs' late fall pares earlier increases

Dow Jones: 10,854.65 (+37) Nasdaq: 2,345.38 (+3.54) SP 500: 1,123.82 (+0.29):MOST US stocks fell yesterday after Goldman Sachs' late drop wiped out the day's second Standard and Poor's 500 Index rally, overshadowing gains by technology companies.

Goldman Sachs slumped 4.7 per cent to the lowest level since March 2009 after Reuters said chief executive officer Lloyd Blankfein hired a defence attorney, citing an unidentified government official.

Computer stocks in the SP 500 added 0.7 per cent, including Hewlett-Packard’s 3.6 per cent advance following last week’s 27 per cent plunge.

About 10 stocks fell for every nine that rose on US exchanges in New York.

“I don’t see any major appetite for buying stocks. We are driven higher [today] because of selling exhaustion,” said James Dailey, portfolio manager of Team Asset Strategy Fund in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

One possible spark for the market could be Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s Friday speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.Some in the market hope Mr Bernanke will hint at additional stimulus measures that could buoy stocks.

“Until we get some kind of a catalyst from Europe regarding the sovereign debt crisis or from the Fed later this week, I expect range-bound trading with high intraday volatility,” Mr Dailey said.

The SP 500 added less than 0.1 per cent to 1,123.82. The index rallied as much as 2 per cent, and posted an advance of 1.1 per cent about three hours before the markets closed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 10,854.65.

Financial shares in the SP 500 lost 1.3 per cent, the most among 10 groups.

JPMorgan Chase fell 2.7 per cent to $33.41.

Bank of America, the largest US bank, slid 7.9 per cent to $6.42, the biggest drop among the Dow’s components. The bank fell after China Construction Bank said the US lender will keep at least half its stake.

IBM shares gained 0.9 per cent at $158.98

Shares of Lowe’s rose 1.1 per cent to $19.53 after the company said it has put aside $5 billion to buy back its shares over the next two to three years. – (Bloomberg/ Reuters)