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A handful of aerospace and defense stocks gained ahead of possible U.S. war against Iraq, while shares of other companies slipped on weak consumer confidence data.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 8.78 points, or 0.11 percent, to end at 8,341.63, after falling more than 1 percent earlier in the session. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended up 0.43 of a point, or 0.05 percent, at 879.82, while the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 4.03 points, or 0.30 percent, to 1,335.51.
"It's the end of three straight years of pain. No one cares about trading today," said Andrew Baker, senior vice president of Nasdaq trading at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles.
On the last trading day of the year, investors bid farewell -- or for many good riddance -- to a year marked by accounting scandals, a lackluster economy, paltry corporate profits and steep declines in stock prices.
Wall Street wrapped up its first three-year losing streak since the period between 1939 and 1941, capped by the worst December performance by the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average since 1931.
The S&P 500 finished 2002 with a loss of about 23 percent for the year, and the Nasdaq closed down about 32 percent. The Dow is off about 17 percent for the year, its worst decline since 1977.
The market has lost a whopping $2.9 trillion of value this year, as measured by the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index .
The release of a report showing a sharp drop in consumer confidence pushed stocks into negative territory Tuesday morning.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 80.3 in December, far below analysts' forecasts, renewing fears that a slowdown in consumer spending -- a linchpin in U.S. growth -- could hamper the fragile economic recovery.
"The consumer has held up well despite some pretty disappointing consumer confidence numbers over the past year, but it's unlikely that they'll pick up the pace," said Charles Payne, market analyst at Wall Street Strategies. "The consumer has to be pooped at this point. You just have to wonder how many color TVs and DVDs each household can hold."
A rally in shares of manufacturing conglomerate Honeywell International (HON) helped prop up the Dow. Honeywell rose 6.8 percent, or $1.53, to $24, making it the average's biggest gainer.
Wall Street is on edge over the possibility of U.S. military action against Iraq and heightened tensions with North Korea after the communist state expelled U.N. inspectors monitoring its nuclear program.
The S&P aerospace index , which includes Honeywell, Boeing Co., United Technologies Corp. and Raytheon Co., rose 1.5 percent.
In contrast, the biggest percentage declining stock in the Dow average was Philip Morris Cos. (MO), down 2.08 percent or 86 cents at $40.53. Among other Dow stocks that fell: Eastman Kodak (EK), down 1.38 percent or 49 cents at $35.04, and Wal-Mart Stores , down 0.26 percent or 13 cents at $50.51.
Tyco International Ltd. (TYC) was the NYSE's most actively traded stock, jumping 11.3 percent after the scandal-scarred company said Monday that an internal investigation found no fraud, but uncovered $382 million in accounting errors. The company also forecast a funding gap of $3.6 billion at the end of 2003, more than double previous estimates. Tyco shares ended up $1.73 at $17.08.
Shares of International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) rose 1.5 percent, or $1.16, to $77.50. Earlier Tuesday, IBM said it had closed a deal to sell its hard disk-drive assets to Japan's Hitachi Ltd. for $2.05 billion in an effort to cut non-performing assets.
On the Nasdaq market, Ariba Inc. (ARBA) shares ended down 4.6 percent, or 12 cents, at $2.48, after the software company said it would restate its 2001 financial results to properly account for a $10 million payment made by one of its executives to another.
Among retailers, Target Corp. (TGT) said after Monday's market close that sales at stores open at least a year were well above expectations last week, but still not strong enough to offset disappointing results earlier in the month. Target shares ended flat at $30.
A weekly report from Instinet Research showed U.S. chain store sales grew just 0.7 percent in December, as last-minute shopping failed to make up for an overall tepid holiday shopping season this year.
Trading was very light, with volume of about 1.07 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange and about 1.16 billion on the Nasdaq, according to the latest available figures.
Advancers outnumbered declining stocks on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. On the Big Board, the ratio of winners to losers was about 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about 10 stocks gained for every 7 that fell.
The Russell 2000 index, a barometer of smaller company stocks, dipped 0.14, or 0.04 percent, to 382.09.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 1.6 percent lower Tuesday. In Europe, France's CAC-40 rose 0.8 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1 percent and Germany's DAX index climbed 1.9 percent.
GeneralPete@Hotmail.Com
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 8.78 points, or 0.11 percent, to end at 8,341.63, after falling more than 1 percent earlier in the session. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended up 0.43 of a point, or 0.05 percent, at 879.82, while the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 4.03 points, or 0.30 percent, to 1,335.51.
"It's the end of three straight years of pain. No one cares about trading today," said Andrew Baker, senior vice president of Nasdaq trading at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles.
On the last trading day of the year, investors bid farewell -- or for many good riddance -- to a year marked by accounting scandals, a lackluster economy, paltry corporate profits and steep declines in stock prices.
Wall Street wrapped up its first three-year losing streak since the period between 1939 and 1941, capped by the worst December performance by the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average since 1931.
The S&P 500 finished 2002 with a loss of about 23 percent for the year, and the Nasdaq closed down about 32 percent. The Dow is off about 17 percent for the year, its worst decline since 1977.
The market has lost a whopping $2.9 trillion of value this year, as measured by the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index .
The release of a report showing a sharp drop in consumer confidence pushed stocks into negative territory Tuesday morning.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 80.3 in December, far below analysts' forecasts, renewing fears that a slowdown in consumer spending -- a linchpin in U.S. growth -- could hamper the fragile economic recovery.
"The consumer has held up well despite some pretty disappointing consumer confidence numbers over the past year, but it's unlikely that they'll pick up the pace," said Charles Payne, market analyst at Wall Street Strategies. "The consumer has to be pooped at this point. You just have to wonder how many color TVs and DVDs each household can hold."
A rally in shares of manufacturing conglomerate Honeywell International (HON) helped prop up the Dow. Honeywell rose 6.8 percent, or $1.53, to $24, making it the average's biggest gainer.
Wall Street is on edge over the possibility of U.S. military action against Iraq and heightened tensions with North Korea after the communist state expelled U.N. inspectors monitoring its nuclear program.
The S&P aerospace index , which includes Honeywell, Boeing Co., United Technologies Corp. and Raytheon Co., rose 1.5 percent.
In contrast, the biggest percentage declining stock in the Dow average was Philip Morris Cos. (MO), down 2.08 percent or 86 cents at $40.53. Among other Dow stocks that fell: Eastman Kodak (EK), down 1.38 percent or 49 cents at $35.04, and Wal-Mart Stores , down 0.26 percent or 13 cents at $50.51.
Tyco International Ltd. (TYC) was the NYSE's most actively traded stock, jumping 11.3 percent after the scandal-scarred company said Monday that an internal investigation found no fraud, but uncovered $382 million in accounting errors. The company also forecast a funding gap of $3.6 billion at the end of 2003, more than double previous estimates. Tyco shares ended up $1.73 at $17.08.
Shares of International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) rose 1.5 percent, or $1.16, to $77.50. Earlier Tuesday, IBM said it had closed a deal to sell its hard disk-drive assets to Japan's Hitachi Ltd. for $2.05 billion in an effort to cut non-performing assets.
On the Nasdaq market, Ariba Inc. (ARBA) shares ended down 4.6 percent, or 12 cents, at $2.48, after the software company said it would restate its 2001 financial results to properly account for a $10 million payment made by one of its executives to another.
Among retailers, Target Corp. (TGT) said after Monday's market close that sales at stores open at least a year were well above expectations last week, but still not strong enough to offset disappointing results earlier in the month. Target shares ended flat at $30.
A weekly report from Instinet Research showed U.S. chain store sales grew just 0.7 percent in December, as last-minute shopping failed to make up for an overall tepid holiday shopping season this year.
Trading was very light, with volume of about 1.07 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange and about 1.16 billion on the Nasdaq, according to the latest available figures.
Advancers outnumbered declining stocks on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. On the Big Board, the ratio of winners to losers was about 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about 10 stocks gained for every 7 that fell.
The Russell 2000 index, a barometer of smaller company stocks, dipped 0.14, or 0.04 percent, to 382.09.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 1.6 percent lower Tuesday. In Europe, France's CAC-40 rose 0.8 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1 percent and Germany's DAX index climbed 1.9 percent.
GeneralPete@Hotmail.Com
More money is made quicker (7x), by shorting equities.
Simple Game. /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif
Simple Game. /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif
