US stocks slip

Investors tried to shake off doubts about a decline in consumer confidence today, but lingering misgivings put an end to a two-day rally as stocks lost ground in largely indecisive trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 30.45, or 0.3%, at 10,115.26, after climbing 311.03 in the previous two sessions.

The broader market also fell. The Nasdaq composite index fell 2.92 or 0.2% to 1,766.96. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was essentially unchanged, off 0.05 to 1,109.38.

Analysts said the market, which has been characterised by ups and downs for weeks, had been poised for more uncertainty regardless of the news on consumer confidence.

The news today was in an announcement by the Conference Board that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 94.1 this month from a revised 97.8 in January. Analysts had expected a reading of 97.

The decline, reversing two consecutive monthly gains, reflects increasing pessimism about the jobs outlook and the economy.

Analysts said the drop in stock prices grew out of concerns that consumers, whose spending has been largely responsible for lifting the battered economy, might be wearing down. But as investors studied the report, those concerns eased somewhat.

In addition to the consumer confidence report, analysts attributed the market’s morning drop to a rumour, quickly denied by the Pentagon, that the US had ground troops in Iraq.

Investors are worrying less about Enron and other corporate controversies and focusing more on improving earnings and economic news, said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.

Several companies reporting earnings today fit that pattern.

Federated Department Stores rose dlrs 2.64 to dlrs 41.66 after it raised its estimates for earnings for the year. But shares of fellow retailer Home Depot were down 56 cents to dlrs 51.51, after it reported earnings that slightly exceeded expectations.

Appliance maker Whirlpool saw its shares rise dlrs 5.15 to dlrs 73.40 after it bolstered its estimate for first-quarter earnings, putting it ahead of estimates by analysts.

Hewlett-Packard rose 3 cents to dlrs 20.01 after one of its larger shareholders, Brandes Investments, reportedly said it would oppose its merger with Compaq Computer. Compaq was down 20 cents to dlrs 10.40.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by an 11-to-8 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume totalled 1.29 billion shares, compared with 1.33 billion on Monday.

The Russell 2000 index, the barometer of smaller company stocks, rose 3.10, or 0.7%, to 471.29.