US stocks end mixed

Caution dominated stock trading in New York today as investors made modest purchases of blue chips but also collected profits, limiting the market’s rise and giving the tech sector a losing session.

Wall Street’s gains grew out of news from the government that companies are rebuilding their inventories. But analysts said investors were also cashing in gains from the past month as they considered whether stocks have more potential for rallies ahead of first-quarter earnings results due out in April.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 15.29, or 0.2%, at 10,517.14. The Dow fell 130.50 on Wednesday, its first loss in four sessions.

The Dow has gained 5% in the past month, and on Tuesday hit its highest closing level of the year at 10,632.35.

Broader market indicators declined today. The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index fell 7.90, or 0.4%, to 1,854.13. Technology trading has been sluggish, with the Nasdaq essentially flat over the past four weeks.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 1.05, or 0.1%, to 1,153.04.

The Commerce Department said businesses rebuilt inventories by 0.2% in January, the first such increase in a year and another optimistic sign that the recession will soon be over.

But technology, which has been particularly distressed by rising inventories, still suffered. Analysts said high-tech companies are still waiting for their corporate customers to increase their capital spending.

Microsoft fell 88 cents to dlrs 61.22, and Intel stumbled 37 cents to dlrs 30.97. Oracle, due to release earnings results after the market closed, declined 45 cents to dlrs 13.44.

Other losses came from companies whose earnings results disappointed investors. Lands’ End dropped 14%, down dlrs 7.70 at dlrs 46.99 after missing fourth-quarter expectations by a penny a share.

Wall Street’s biggest gains came out of old economy sectors, such as manufacturing, which often are the first to emerge from recession. Caterpillar climbed dlrs 1.17 to dlrs 58.66, while 3M rose dlrs 1.09 cents to dlrs 120.59. Both are Dow industrials.

Eastman Kodak, also a Dow stock, rose dlrs 1.35 to dlrs 32.35 after reaffirming its first-quarter and full-year outlook.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was moderate.

The Russell 2000 index, which measures the performance of smaller company stocks, rose 2.31, or 0.5%, to 497.76.