NYT/AP: Stocks Mixed As Consumer Confidence Drops

[DeepModem Mom]

Stocks Mixed As Consumer Confidence Drops
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 13, 2005
Filed at 10:11 a.m. ET


NEW YORK (AP) -- Falling consumer confidence pressured Wall Street Friday, leaving stocks mixed despite a technology sector rally led by Dell Computer Inc.'s strong earnings.

Investors were cheered by Dell's 28 percent jump in profits, seeing it as a sign that companies were still making investments in computers and other big-ticket items. Dell also forecast higher revenue growth for the current quarter.

However, the market's early gains were curtailed as the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index showed a larger-than-expected drop in confidence. The May index came in at 85.3, substantially lower than the 88.3 expected on Wall Street. Investors fear that a dropoff in consumer spending could lead to an economic slowdown.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 11.83, or 0.1 percent, to 10,177.65.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 2.96, or 0.3 percent, at 1,156.40, and the tech-focused Nasdaq composite index gained 9.33, or 0.5 percent, to 1,973.21....


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Wall-Street.html