Dow Falls 33.96, But Broad Market Stabilizes
The Dow Jones industrial average slid again Tuesday, but the broad market was mixed, steadying from Monday’s sharp sell-off as investors braced for this week’s reports on inflation.
The Dow industrials shed 33.96 points to finish at 5,560.41. The widely watched barometer of big U.S. companies lost about 88 points on Monday as stock investors reacted to another unexpectedly strong employment report that sent bonds tumbling on Good Friday, when stock markets were closed.
Trading, while heavy, was quiet compared with Monday as investors awaited new readings on the economy, particularly Thursday’s and Friday’s reports on inflation in consumer and wholesale prices.
“There’s quite a bit of fear about what numbers might say,” said Bob Dickey, technical analyst for Dain Bosworth Inc. in Minneapolis. “It’s got the potential to be a pretty wild week yet.”
Advancers led decliners 7 to 5 on the NYSE, where volume totaled 421.20 million shares as of 4 p.m., slightly higher than Monday’s total.
Some of the stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday:
NYSE
IP Timberlands, up 1-5/8 to 23-7/8.
The timberland-owning unit of International Paper declared a one-time distribution of $9.75 a share, but also said it will cut its regular quarterly distribution by 31 percent. IP said the one-time distribution reflects proceeds from its recent sale of most of a unit that owns about 300,000 acres of forest lands in Oregon and Washington, and the lower distribution rate reflects the loss of earnings from those lands.
Integon, down 1-1/8 to 18.
The automobile insurer said it experienced a 19 percent increase in the frequency of claims during the first quarter due to severe winter weather and therefore expects to report net income of between 10 cents and 13 cents a share. That would compare with a profit of 19 cents a share in the same period last year, excluding extraordinary items.
NASDAQ
Employee Solutions, up 4-1/4 to 36-1/4.
The employee-leasing company said it expects to meet or exceed Wall Street’s expectations for first-quarter earnings thanks to higher than anticipated growth from marketing efforts and accelerated closing of cases in its workers’ compensation program.
AMEX
Xytronyx, down 5/16 at 1-15/16.
Procter & Gamble has decided to terminate a pact to market a Xytronyx gum-disease test and focus on its own core oral care products. Last week, P&G said it would terminate a deal to market Zila’s oral cancer diagnostic test.