By Jonathan Cheng
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks traded in a tight range on
Wednesday, edging down modestly while gold added to its record
highs as pressure continued to mount on the dollar.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 10 points, or 0.1%
to 10847 in early trading, while the Standard & Poor's
500-stock index (SPX) shed 2 points to 1146 and the Nasdaq
Composite (RIXF) edged down less than a point to 2379.
Leading the blue-chip index's declines was Cisco Systems (CSC),
off 1.1%, after International Business Machines (IBM) purchased a
maker of Ethernet switches, putting the two tech giants in more
direct competition.
Offsetting Cisco's losses was Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), which led
Dow gainers with a 2.2% rise, after the company said revenue for
the fiscal year would be between $131.5 billion and $133.5 billion
-- a range that compared favorably to the consensus forecast of
$131.6 billion.
Taken together, tech stocks were a source of relative strength
for the market, edging up slightly to make it the strongest sector
among the S&P 500. Financial stocks were the weakest, weighed
by a 1% drop at J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) and a 0.8% slip at Bank of
America (BAC).
U.S. stocks had ended higher on Tuesday, as takeover deals and
hopes for more Treasury buying by the Federal Reserve helped offset
worries over weak consumer-confidence data. The Dow finished up 46
points after reversed an 80-point slide earlier in the session.
Speculation about more monetary easing in the U.S. has pushed
the dollar lower in recent days. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which
measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, hit its
lowest level in eight months Wednesday morning, while the dollar
sank to a two-week low against the yen before bouncing back up to
trade at 83.80 yen recently. The move continued the dollar's slide
back toward the level it hit two weeks ago, just before Japanese
authorities intervened in currency markets.
Concerns about the euro zone's sovereign-debt problems,
meantime, kept a lid on the euro's gains. The euro edged up against
the dollar, trading at $1.3595 after the European Commission
proposed legislation that would strengthen its control over the
economic policies of EU member states, including fines for
breaching budget rules.
Gold futures hit another high as the dollar weakened, with the
yellow metal edging above $1,310 an ounce.
On the corporate front, shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
(GMCR) fell 17% after the firm said the Securities and Exchange
Commission was investigating its revenue recognition practices.
Oil giant BP PLC (BP) was also back in the headlines as incoming
CEO Bob Dudley said he will restructure BP's upstream business and
create a new safety division, with the power to audit any part of
the company' operations. BP shares rose 2.2%.
Family Dollar Stores (FDO) rose 3.6% after the discounter topped
consensus earnings forecast and announced plans to buy back up to
$750 million of its shares.
Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) added 1.5% after reports that
chairman Barry Diller had resigned his position amid turbulence at
the concert promotion giant.
Meanwhile, Nintendo (NTDOY) dropped 10% after the Japanese
gaming giant cut its profit and sales outlook, citing the strong
yen and weaker-than-expected sales of its video game consoles.
In international markets, the Stoxx Europe 600 index was off
0.2% in recent trading. The Nikkei 225 Average closed up 0.7%,
while the Hong Kong market added 1.2%.