Price, Rate Fears Send Dow Down 48
Stocks closed lower as investors' nervousness about inflation and interest rates again overshadowed upbeat earnings news. But Intel got a boost as it and Microsoft were picked as new components of the Dow Jones industrial average.</br></br>At the close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow was down 47.80 at 10,302.13, having surrendered an earlier 59-point gain. The blue chips fell 120 points on Monday amid uneasiness over higher rates.</br></br>Broader indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was down 11.72 at 1281.91, and the Nasdaq composite index was off 4.48 at 2811.47.</br></br>Stocks were hampered by continuing concerns about inflation, especially as the Federal Reserve's next policy-setting meeting approaches on Nov. 16. The jitters have caused investors to look past better-than-expected earnings reports, including news today of strong earnings from Lucent Technologies.</br></br>"The market is still under pressure, and the interest-rate question is probably a big part of it," said Charles White, president and portfolio manager at Avatar Associates.