Stocks ended lower yesterday but a late afternoon comeback limited losses after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan offered too few soothing words about sputtering US economy, noting in congressional testimony more weakness cannot be ruled out.
Mr Greenspan's remarks spread more clouds over Wall Street, where the market had already started the trading session under the gloom of dismal corporate earnings, including Intel's news of a 76 per cent drop in quarterly income.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 36.56 points to 10,569.83 - after falling more than 100 points earlier in the afternoon. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 51.17 points to 2,016.15, after falling more than 3 per cent earlier in the session. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index gave up 6.74 points to 1,207.70, after sliding more than 10 points earlier in the day.
Intel, a Dow component and big driver of the Nasdaq composite fell $1.01 to $28.89.
The most active stock on the New York Stock Exchange was AOL Time Warner , which fell $4.90 to $44.55, a closing low unseen in about three months.
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