Stocks ticked lower today as technology stocks retreated after a solid rally in the prior session, while nagging worries about war and the corporate profit picture put additional pressure on the market.
Pockets of strength helped keep a floor under the tech sector. Canada's Nortel Networks Inc., which posted its 12th straight quarterly loss last night on sliding sales of its telecommunications gear, offered an uplifting outlook for the year ahead, saying it would return to profit in the second quarter of 2003.
The Dow Jones industrial average sagged 42.1 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8,327.37, and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 4.57 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 882.77. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 9.98 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 1,378.29.
An upbeat forecast from Web retailer Amazon.com also helped keep Wall Street's mood from souring significantly. After yesterday's close it reported its second-ever quarterly net profit and raised its outlook, forecasting a gain of at least 15 percent in 2003 sales.
But investors were wary, with US forces building in the Gulf and Washington brushing off its allies' objections to a possible attack against Iraq.