Stocks finds comfort in techEarly fears about drop in crude oil prices offset by upbeat news from Apple; investors await Alcoa earnings.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks erased early losses Tuesday, helped by the tech sector, but remained mostly lower as Wall Street remained focused on lower energy prices and corporate earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average (Charts) and the S&P 500 index (Charts) both slipped 0.1 percent with 1 hour remaining in the session. 
But the tech-laden Nasdaq composite (up $6.10 to $2,444.30, Charts) rose 0.1 percent, led by the iPod maker Apple. Investors were awaiting fourth-quarter earnings from aluminum maker Alcoa (up $0.26 to $28.74, Charts) which is due to report after the closing bell. The aluminum maker will be the first Dow Jones industrial average component to report results for the period ended Dec. 31. Wall Street was a little jittery already about corporate earnings after Sprint Nextel (down $2.08 to $17.56, Charts) said late Monday its 2007 revenue will fall in a range that sets the midpoint below analysts' forecasts. Sprint also said that it will cut about 5,000 jobs next year. Stocks struggled early in the session after crude oil prices slipped to an 18-month low in the morning, with the further decline in oil prices having a mixed impact on stocks. "A lot of oil stocks in the S&P are getting hurt and so the impact of the falling oil prices is less positive than it might otherwise be," said Steven Goldman, market analyst at Weeden & Co. U.S. light crude oil prices for February delivery recovered most of its early losses and was 45 cents lower at $55.64. Oil prices have been tumbling for the last week in response to unusually warm Northeast weather and bets that large hedge funds are cutting their exposure to the sector. Shares of some oil services firms were under pressure as a result, with the Amex Oil index down over 1 percent. Exxon Mobil (down $0.27 to $72.38, Charts), Valero Energy (down $0.38 to $48.99, Charts) and Sunoco (down $0.97 to $58.61, Charts) were all weaker. Shares of BP (down $1.82 to $62.47, Charts) slipped after the oil major said its oil and gas production fell 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 compared to last year, sparking fears about the company's growth potential. The tech sector was in focus Tuesday due to a pair of big conferences including Apple Computer's annual Macworld and the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But the iPod-maker Apple stole the spotlight Tuesday after CEO CEO Steve Jobs announced that the iPod maker would launch a cell phone which he called the "iPhone," with iPod, cell phone and "Internet communicator" capabilities. Apple (up $6.46 to $91.93, Charts) shares soared 6.8 percent on the news. In other news, GE (down $0.02 to $37.53, Charts) is reportedly seeking buyers for its plastics business, worth up to $10 billion. Other movers included the restaurant operator Cheesecake Factory (up $2.65 to $27.21, Charts) whose shares surged after the company reported late Monday a better-than-expected 18 percent increase in quarterly revenue. Market breadth was slightly negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners barely beat advancers on volume of 1.29 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, losers surpassed winners by eight to seven on volume of 1.68 billion shares. Treasury prices were barely changed, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note at 4.65 percent. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. In currency trading, the dollar rose against both the euro and the yen. COMEX gold rose $5.60 to $615 an ounce. |
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