Stocks extended their losses in afternoon trading yesterday as investors worried that this week's earnings reports will show corporate growth slowing even more than expected.
Comments from investment bank Morgan Stanley about a dour outlook for the semiconductor sector and disappointing first-quarter earnings reports from leading banks rattled some investors and prompted them to sell stocks, slicing into gains from a blockbuster rally last week.
"The uncertainty still prevails. We're not out of the woods," said Dick Schmaltz, director of investment at J & W Seligman, Inc., referring to the Nasdaq retreat after a 14-percent gain. "I don't see last week as a cataclysmic change."
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 51.9 points to 1,909.53. Intel, one of the Nasdaq's most heavily traded shares, led the retreat with a drop of $2.36 to $25.77.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 31.62 at 10,158.56 points. Exxon Mobil, up $2.01 to $84.01, helped pare the Dow's loss. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 3.83 points to 1,179.67.
