(AP) - Stocks closed lower for a second straight day as the market absorbed more disturbing economic news.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished with a loss of 35 points at 12,446. Advancing and declining issues were almost even on the New York Stock Exchange on volume of about 5.1 billion shares. The Nasdaq composite index was down 23 points at the 2,394 level, with roughly 3.3 billion shares traded. And the S&P 500 dropped 7 points, closing at 1,373.
Wall Street spent most of the session fluctuating while investors combed corporate profit reports and economic news that supported varying views about the soundness of the economy.
Intel's failure to meet forecasts for the fourth quarter, along with lowered first-quarter projections, weighed on technology stocks.
The damage was limited by a Federal Reserve report showing that the economy grew at the end of 2007, which appeared to quiet some worries of a sudden slowdown.
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