Blue-chip stocks fell for the fourth day running yesterday as investors, fearing a rise in inflation, moved money away from industrial companies and into the technology issues that have pushed the Nasdaq index higher.
The Dow Jones fell 99.59, or 0.9 per cent, to close at 11,251.71, while the technology-dominated Nasdaq rose 45.89, or 1.1 per cent, to close at 4,235.40, extending the record it set on Thursday.
Broader stock indicators were little changed, although smaller-company shares were showing some strength. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 5.47 to 532.75.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 4-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,746 down, 1,326 up and 468 unchanged. NYSE volume totalled 1.21 billion shares, against 1.10 billion in the previous session.
"There's a panic to own Nasdaq stocks because day after day the Nasdaq goes up," said Larry Rice, chief investment officer of Josephthal and Co. The Nasdaq rose on the strength of industry leaders like Cisco Systems and newer firms like Healtheon/WebMD, an on-line healthcare information company that is the subject of takeover rumours.
