Valium anyone?
Wall Street was getting hammered in mid-afternoon trading Tuesday, with jittery investors unloading stock positions as fast as they could turn the pages of their portfolios. Why? Take your pick -- earnings concerns, interest rates, soggy tech shares, rising energy costs, trouble at Coke.
It's one of those sell-offs that looks more like a routine venting of steam than an all-out retreat. But traders can kiss off any chance of blue-chip stocks soaring back into five digits, at least for a while.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 9701.25 points to 9701.25, and the Wired Index was 17.34 lower at 603.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 63.86 to 2332.08, and the S&P 500 was down 31.64 at 1265.37.
"I don't see anything out there that seems too significant," said Steve Adams, managing director of Van Kasper & Co. "You've got a handful of stocks that are overvalued, and the great mass of stocks that are fairly valued."
Along with worries that some of those overvalued companies will be reporting less-than-stellar quarterly results, the market was jolted by news that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut production by more than 2 million barrels a day and maintain lower output for at least a year. This, of course, will drive fuel costs higher, which in turn will take a toll on manufacturers, shippers, airlines, and other such heavy drinkers.
The Dow's loss is attributable in part to Coca-Cola (KO) shedding US$2.50 to $65.19 after Merrill Lynch lowered its first-quarter earnings estimate for the sugar-water giant by a penny to 31 cents a share. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter expressed caution as well about Coke's prospects.
Yahoo (YHOO) also took it on the chin, dropping $6.50 to $158.5 as The Wall Street Journal confirmed speculation that the company is negotiating acquisition of Broadcast.com. Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Journal said Yahoo is willing to pay as much as $120 a share for the online broadcaster, which saw its stock surge 37 percent Monday as rumors of a pending deal swirled through trading floors. Broadcast.com (BCST) slipped $3.13 to $113.38 as the rumor switched to seeming fact.
Is that all for Yahoo? Maybe not. Interactive Week is saying that the portal papa also may have its sights set on online auctioneer eBay (EBAY). However, eBay's nearly $18 billion market valuation could make it too rich for Yahoo's blood. The auction leader was $8.38 lower at $146.75.
On the other hand, CNET (CNET) gained $2.50 to $95.75 as it tossed yet another company into its shopping basket. The Web-site operator will shell out more than $46 million for KillerApp, which provides comparison-shopping services for computers and consumer electronics. Looks like a pretty good fit for CNET's other offerings.
And here's Autoweb.com (AWEB), an online car dealer, motoring 104 percent higher to $28.59 in its first day of trading. The company debuted with 5 million shares initially priced at $14 apiece. Along with a dot com in its name, Autoweb posted a loss of $11.5 million last year, making it a certifiably golden Internet play.
