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More losses on Wall St.
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November 17, 2000: 5:22 p.m. ET
As White House race stays cloudy, stocks end the week little changed
By Staff Writer Jake Ulick
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. stocks edged lower Friday as fresh concerns about slowing corporate profit growth hit a market battered by new uncertainties over the presidential impasse.
Two companies, BellSouth and DaimlerChrysler, readied Wall Street for financial disappointments -- the latest in a parade of earnings problems that have plagued the markets since Labor Day.
At the same time, Vice President Al Gore's campaign said it would challenge a ruling in the long-running Florida vote-recount battle.
 The Dow Jones industrial average edged lower while the Nasdaq composite come within 65 points of its worst close of the year. Both gauges ended the week little changed but are down sharply since Nov. 7, when the nation went to the polls.
"There are continued uncertainties," said Alan Ackerman, senior vice president at Fahnestock & Co. "The U.S. economy is slowing and commensurate with that is slowing consumer spending and corporate spending."
A Florida judge said some of the vote re-tallying need not count in deciding the White House race. The news, a victory for George W. Bush, initially lifted markets. But the gains were short-lived. Stocks swung wildly as Wall Street digested word from the Democrats that clouded the outcome of a contest that was supposed to end 10 days ago.
"This is a market that has been nervous for some time," Walt Czaicki, analyst at Banc of America Capital Management, told CNNfn's market coverage. (306K AIFF) (306K WAV).
Still, Czaicki sees stocks rising ahead. The election's ultimate resolution, he said, will give way to an environment of inexpensive stocks and falling interest rates.
But those gains will have to wait. The Nasdaq fell 4.69 points to 3,027.19 Friday, losing 2 points on the week. Still, the declines put the index not far above the 2,966.74 mark hit Monday, its lowest close of the year.
The Dow declined 26.16 to 10,629.87 and is up 0.2 percent on the week. The S&P 500 shed 4.60 to 1,367.72, bringing its gains over the last five sessions to less than 2 points.
Market breadth was mixed. Advancing issues on the New York Stock Exchange edged out declining ones 1,499 to 1,332 as more than 1 billion shares changed hands. Nasdaq losers topped winners 2,088 to 1,728 as more than 1.7 billion shares were traded.
In other markets, the dollar rose against the euro but was little changed versus yen. Treasury securities fell.
No certainty yet
In the latest news from the disputed election, a Florida judge said the state can reject the presidential votes counted after the deadline imposed by Florida's secretary of state.
The use of those votes might have meant a victory for Vice President Al Gore, whose opponent -- Bush, the Texas governor -- led in the latest official tally.
 But Gore aides vowed an appeal, further clouding the issue of who will move into the White House next year.
Some of the so-called 'Bush stocks,' which could face tighter restrictions under a Democratic administration, fell Friday.
Merck (MRK: Research, Estimates) lost $1.69 to $88.50 and Exxon-Mobil (XOM: Research, Estimates) shed 38 cents to $90.31.
The overall market has fallen steadily since the end of August as rising interest rates and higher energy prices have led companies to lower their earnings outlooks.
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 Alan Harris, of Munder Capital Management, chats with CNNfn about where the NASDAQ is headed. |
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Among the latest financial disappointments, BellSouth (BLS: Research, Estimates) tumbled $7.13 to $42.13 after cutting its profit forecast for 2001.
BellSouth's announcement spread to Dow component and fellow regional phone company SBC Communications (SBC: Research, Estimates), which lost $2.06 to $56. AT&T (T: Research, Estimates), the long-distance provider, fell 63 cents to $20.13.
DaimlerChrysler (DCX: Research, Estimates) lost 71 cents to $42.85 after warning that its earnings would be hit by a reduced contribution from Chrysler as U.S. market conditions continue to worsen.
"It's a continuation of the story we've been seeing for months," Todd Eberhard, stock strategist at Eberhard Investment Advisors, told CNNfn's Market Call.
More news from CNNfn.com for investors:
· Vote machine firms smile
· TV, Web news gain from election craze
· Closed-end fund bargains
Investors seeking safety moved into utility stocks, sending the Dow Jones utilities index up 7.496 points, or 2 percent, to 401.26.
But some stocks rose Friday on positive financial outlooks.
Among them, Sun Microsystems (SUNW: Research, Estimates) gained $2.06 to $89.31 after saying earnings for the current quarter and fiscal year remain on track.
And VA Linux Systems (LNUX: Research, Estimates) gained $1.38 to $13.38 after the provider of Linux operating systems reported a first-quarter loss in line with analysts' reduced expectations. The company, one of 1999's best-performing IPOs, said it aims to become profitable by the end of calendar year 2001.
 But gains were not the norm. Many financial stocks fell, with J.P. Morgan (JPM: Research, Estimates) losing $3.88 to $148.13 and American Express (AXP: Research, Estimates) declining $1.69 to $56.06.
While the week ended flat on Wall Street, the period since the Nov. 7 election has not been kind to U.S. stocks. The Dow is down 3 percent in the period while the Nasdaq is off 11 percent.
Wall Street could use a catalyst to jolt it higher. But with only two real trading sessions next week – Monday and Tuesday -- analysts scanning the days ahead see little to ignite a rally.
The stock market closes early Friday, a day after shutting its doors for Thanksgiving. But the workweek for many traders winds down Wednesday, one of the busiest travel days of the year. 
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