NEW YORK (CNNmoney) - U.S. equity markets edged lower Thursday as national safety issues surrounding bioterrorism concerns and weak corporate results put pressure on blue-chip stock investors.
Blue chips, often associated with the Dow Jones industrial average, were down on the day, reacting to security concerns, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed fractionally higher on mixed corporate results.
Fuel was added to the anthrax contamination fire after a CBS News employee in New York and a U.S. Postal Service worker in Trenton, N.J., became the fifth and sixth confirmed cases of the disease.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 69.75 to 9,163.22. The Nasdaq composite index rose 6.38 to 1,652.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 8.48 to 1,068.61.
"Earnings are not so great and we've got all these things we can't control, from military action in Afghanistan to the anthrax scare, so people are doing a little selling," Donald Selkin, chief investment strategist, Joseph Gunnar, told CNNfn's The Money Gang.
Adding to the sentiment was the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional report on manufacturing activity that showed a sharper-than-expected decline this month, to minus 27.4 from minus 7.3. The report is the first clear-cut view of the sector for the period following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
However, analysts cautioned that poor earnings news and the run-up in recent weeks primed indexes for a selloff even without bioterrorism fears.
"The market is jittery and it's gonna keep heading lower for a while," said Kenneth Sheinberg, head of listed trading at SG Cowen. "Earnings news is doing nothing to help. Who cares if a company beat estimates by a penny when the profits are so far down from the year before and the estimates were already lowered three times?"
A number of companies reported quarterly results after the close of trade.
Software maker Microsoft (MSFT: up $0.72 to $56.75, Research, Estimates) reported a fiscal first-quarter profit of 43 cents a share, topping analysts' estimates by four cents and showing a modest rise from the period one-year earlier.
Sun MicroSystems (SUNW: up $0.08 to $8.88, Research, Estimates), the largest maker of Unix servers, which power Web sites and many corporate networks, said it lost five cents per share, a far cry from the 15 cents a share earned one year earlier, but nonetheless topping expectations by a penny.
Online auction site eBay (EBAY: up $1.97 to $59.06, Research, Estimates) reported earnings of 12 cents a share, beating estimates by a penny and showing growth from the same period one-year earlier.
Asian stocks closed broadly lower Thursday. Techs, led by a warning from Germany's SAP, pushed Europe to a lower close.
Treasury prices closed little changed, with the yield on the 10-year note at 4.57 percent. The dollar was stronger against both the euro and the yen.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners paced advancers by almost a 2-to-1 ratio as 1.22 billion shares traded. On the Nasdaq, losers beat winners by more than a 4-to-3 margin as 1.75 billion shares changed hands.
Merck meets, Boeing guides lower
A number of Dow components released results that either met or surpassed earnings estimates. But sales that in many cases declined from the period a year earlier gave investors the jitters.
Leading the list of companies pressuring the Dow was pharmaceutical maker Merck (MRK: down $2.75 to $66.30, Research, Estimates), which posted higher third-quarter earnings, in line with estimates, and said it was comfortable with its earlier fourth-quarter guidance.
No. 1 automaker General Motors (GM: down $0.75 to $42.02, Research, Estimates) reported better-than-expected earnings of 85 cents a share, down from $1.55 a year earlier, but also warned about the fourth quarter.
Fast-food chain McDonald's (MCD: down $0.16 to $29.24, Research, Estimates) reported a lower third-quarter profit that just missed estimates.
Aircraft maker Boeing (BA: down $0.84 to $32.86, Research, Estimates) lowered its guidance for 2001 and 2002. The company also reported higher third-quarter profit that topped estimates.
Soft-drink maker Coca-Cola (KO: up $1.84 to $46.12, Research, Estimates) reported third-quarter earnings flat with the previous year that nonetheless topped analysts' estimates. It was the only Dow component reporting earnings Thursday that rose.
United Technologies (UTX: down $1.60 to $50.40, Research, Estimates) also sold off, two days after the company reported a rise in third-quarter profit, in line with estimates, and that it will cut 5,000 jobs.
Apple, Broadcom among actives
A number of software and networking names offered some positive momentum, while Siebel Systems' and Sprint's mixed earnings turned on some pressure.
In the semiconductor sector, Advanced Micro Devices reported negative third-quarter results, while the effect of Broadcom's quarterly loss was tempered by some positive brokerage comments. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, or the Soxx, was down 2.5 percent.
Computer hardware maker Apple Computer (AAPL: up $1.01 to $18.00, Research, Estimates) said late Wednesday that it earned 18 cents a share for the fiscal fourth quarter, topping estimates. But it warned about its first quarter.
No. 2 handheld computer maker Handspring (HAND: down $0.89 to $1.77, Research, Estimates) reported wider first-quarter losses late Wednesday that missed estimates.
Late Wednesday, phone service provider Sprint (FON: down $1.94 to $20.05, Research, Estimates) reported sharply lower third-quarter results that met expectations and announced further layoffs.
Siebel Systems (SEBL: down $0.27 to $17.11, Research, Estimates) reported third-quarter earnings of 7 cents a share, missing estimates by 2 cents.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: down $0.21 to $9.50, Research, Estimates) reported a wider third-quarter loss late Tuesday, missing estimates.
Texas Instruments (TI: up $3.15 to $83.40, Research, Estimates) on Wednesday reported a third-quarter loss that was narrower than expected on lower sales from the same period one-year earlier. The company also lowered its outlook for the fourth quarter.
A number of analysts offered positive reinforcement for chipmaker Broadcom (BRCM: up $1.87 to $29.94, Research, Estimates) after it reported a smaller-than-expected third-quarter loss.
Computer security provider Symantec (SYMC: up $4.81 to $52.58, Research, Estimates) reported a second-quarter loss that nonetheless topped estimates.
Merrill Lynch (MER: up $1.06 to $45.29, Research, Estimates) reported third-quarter earnings that fell sharply from a year earlier, but nonetheless beat estimates. The stock was up in midday trade, as were a number of other financial services issues.
In a report released before the start of trading, the government said the number of new claims for unemployment benefits rose to 490,000 from a revised 484,000 the week before, exceeding economists' expectations. 
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