US stocks close mixed

US investors, increasingly focused on profits rather than war, nudged stocks higher today, ending a two-day losing streak.

But the gains were hard-fought, a sign that investors are nervous about first-quarter results and the future.

The market’s concern was again corporate performance rather than the war in Iraq. That was the case on Wednesday when investors sent prices sharply lower despite TV images of Allied forces and euphoric Iraqi citizens taking over Baghdad.

Now that success in Iraq seems assured, analysts said investors were looking more closely at earnings, anxious to hear positive results and upbeat assessments for future quarters.

The Dow Jones industrials closed up 23.39, or 0.3%. It was the Dow’s first gain in three sessions, following a 100.98-point drop on Wednesday and Tuesday’s decline of 1.49.

The broader market was also higher. The Nasdaq composite index rose 8.86, or 0.7%, to 1,365.60. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 5.59, or 0.6%, to 871.58.

While the news from Iraq has been good, analysts said many investors had already anticipated the US-led forces would prevail and factored that into stock prices by sending shares higher during recent rallies. That leaves earnings reports, which companies began releasing in earnest this week, as the priority on Wall Street.

“The market has got to get back to reality now, that is (stock) valuation and earnings,” said Gary Kaltbaum, president of Investors’ Edge Partners, a money management firm in Orlando, Florida.

Better-than-expected quarterly results provided some lift today. First Data rose 1.23 to 35 after posting profits that were 2 cents a share higher than was anticipated.

Yahoo! rose 1.40 to 24.27, the day after reporting earnings that were 2 cents higher than anticipated and raising its 2003 outlook.

But EW Scripps fell 89 cents to 78.50 after the media company missed first-quarter earnings expectations by 2 cents a share.

And retailers were weak after reporting disappointing sales for March as consumer clamped down on spending due to their war jitters. JC Penney stumbled 81 cents to 18.08.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners nearly 5 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was very light.

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller company stocks, rose 0.41, or 0.1%, to 372.69.