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Wall Street recovers
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August 27, 1999: 1:49 p.m. ET
Selling dries up as investors prepare for weekend; tech stocks strong
By Staff Writer Malina Poshtova Zang
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. stock markets turned mixed in afternoon trading Friday as technology issues regained composure after a brief morning slide, and pre-weekend profit-taking among blue chip shares eased.
Shortly before 1:30 p.m. ET the Dow Jones industrial average, which is still trading near a record high, was 33.25 points lower at 11,165.30. Trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange was very light at 350 million shares, and breadth was negative, with losers ahead of gainers by 1,625 to 1,109.
The Nasdaq composite index inched up 0.11 to 2,774.73, and the S&P 500 index lost 4.73 to 1,357.28. (Click here for a look at today's CNNfn market movers.)
Earlier in the trading session, stocks suffered a brief downturn after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan delivered a cautionary speech to a meeting of world central bankers.
In prepared remarks at the meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Greenspan said central banks must consider the value of stocks and other assets when determining monetary policy.
The Fed chairman has sent U.S. stock prices falling more than once in the past by warning of the inflationary effects an overvalued market could have. But in his latest speech, Greenspan avoided any mention of the level of U.S. stock markets.
Earlier this week, the Fed raised short-term interest rates by a quarter percentage point, a move expected to be the last of its kind for the year.
The bond market retreated as a burst of profit-taking continued into a second day. The bellwether 30-year Treasury bond fell 19/32 of a point in price, its yield rising to 5.94 percent from Thursday's 5.89 percent.
The dollar was little changed against both the yen and the euro.
Techs show some resilience
Despite the overall weakness in the market, unexpectedly strong results from personal finance software maker Intuit (INTU) helped move its stock higher and gave high-tech bulls reason to buy more of the sector's prominent members.
Shares of Intuit, whose Quicken division is a partner of CNNfn.com, rallied 7-5/8 to 90-1/2 after the company late Thursday reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the fiscal fourth quarter.
Other technology gainers included Dow component IBM (IBM), rising 1-9/16 to 124-1/2, and fellow blue chip Hewlett Packard (HWP), whose stock gained 2-5/8 to 105-1/4.
On the Nasdaq, Intel (INTC) advanced 2-1/16 83-1/8.
Among telecommunications issues, shares of Finnish wireless telecom specialist Nokia (NOK) gained 1-3/16 to 85-1/8 after the company unveiled a prototype of MediaScreen -- a combination of wireless phone, Internet and TV technology.
Finally, investors showed signs of approval for medical device maker Medtronic's purchase of Xomed Surgical Products (XOMD), a maker of surgical instruments for the treatment of ear, nose and throat problems. Shares of Xomed soared 6-1/4, or more than 12 percent, to 57-1/2, while Medtronic (MDT), which is to pay about $800 million for Xomed, saw its stock fall 1-15/16 to 74-3/4. 
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