US stocks down

Sellers resurfaced on Wall Street late today, unloading stocks following the previous sessions’ buying binge.

Techs suffered the brunt of the selling, and the Nasdaq composite index fell to its lowest close since late October following a revenue warning from Ciena and a reduced earnings forecast for Intel.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 106.49, or 1.1%, at 9,834.68, giving up an earlier advance of 88.69. Many analysts doubted the Dow could sustain its rally from Wednesday when it surged 196.03.

The broader market also finished lower. The Nasdaq composite index fell 59.23, or 3.3%, to 1,716.34, its lowest close since October 31 when the Nasdaq stood at 1,690.20.

And the Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 17.02, or 1.6%, to 1,080.96.

The Dow briefly passed the 10,000 level soon after the Philadelphia Fed reported at midday that activity in the region’s manufacturing sector improved in January for the second consecutive month. But the blue chips gave up their gains not a surprising development, considering the market’s continuing gloom.

Selling has ruled the market so far this year as investors worry about the US economy, earnings and the accuracy of corporate accounting.

Earnings forecasts and Enron-related fears again contributed to the market’s slide today.

Ciena fell nearly 13%, down dlrs 1.10 at dlrs 7.60, after the networker cut its second-quarter revenue estimate about 40 percent below analysts’ forecasts.

Intel tumbled dlrs 1.96 to dlrs 29.48 after Banc of America Securities lowered its 2002 earnings estimate for the chip maker to 65 cents from 69 cents.

Investors again turned away from companies whose business stands to suffer in the aftermath of Enron’s collapse.

American International Group fell dlrs 2.68 to dlrs 71.04 the day after a senior executive warned that the insurance industry faces an overwhelming number of claims on policies covering shareholder lawsuit liabilities, according to a report by Dow Jones Newswires.

There were just five gainers among the Dow industrials. Boeing rose 90 cents to dlrs 44.21, and Alcoa advanced 87 cents to dlrs 37.48.

The Russell 2000 index, the barometer of smaller company stocks, fell 8.82, or 1.9%, to 458.43.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers 17 to 13 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was moderate.