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Wall Street Waffles on New Economic Data

Posted on: Thursday, 5 February 2004, 06:00 CST

Wall Street waffled in response to more confusing economic news Thursday, leaving stocks trading in a narrow range.

The major indicators were fluctuating through the morning. At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.52, or 0.01 percent, at 10,471.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 1.76, or 0.2 percent, at 1,124.76, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.84, or 0.04 percent, to 2,014.98.

First-time jobless claims rose by 17,000 last week, according to the Labor Department, while worker productivity grew by only 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter, down sharply from 9.5 percent in the third quarter. Economists expected jobless claims to remain level and productivity to rise by 3.4 percent.

While the economic news was again muddled - the worker productivity figure was still considered satisfactory - the more important job indicator is due Friday when payroll figures for January are released. In the meantime, investors were again expected to move toward defensive positions in the consumer and healthcare sectors.

"In the end, with earnings as strong as they've been, we're going to overlook the little economic reports," said Bill Groenfeld, head trader for vFinance Investments. "Right now, we're seeing earnings-driven buying, which is smart and good for the economy anyway."

Brewer Adolph Coors Co. jumped $2.03 to $57.95 after reporting earnings that blew past Wall Street expectations by 31 cents per share.

PepsiCo Inc., which reported a 30 percent rise in quarterly earnings and met analysts' expectations, lost 5 cents to $47.55.

Pharmaceutical stocks rose even as the Food and Drug Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission announced plans to take action against misleading information from drugmakers that could affect their stock prices. Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., which beat analysts' estimates by 8 cents in its earnings report, gained $1.20 to $76.50. Pfizer Inc. added 1 cent to $38.28, while Merck & Co. rose 8 cents to $49.02.

On the Nasdaq, technology stocks struggled to regain ground after a major selloff on Wednesday. Intel Corp. was up 6 cents at $30.08, while Cisco Systems Inc. dropped 26 cents to $23.82.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 7-to-6 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 668.22 million shares, compared to 662.72 million at the same point Wednesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 3.52, or 0.6 percent, at 567.55.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average climbed 0.2 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.3 percent after the Bank of England raised interest rates by a quarter-point, Germany's DAX index fell 0.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 edged up 0.1 percent.

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On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

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