NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks were mixed in uneven trading Tuesday despite strong earnings from Texas Instruments and AT&T Corp., as many investors cashed in on profits.
In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 29.33, or 0.3 percent, at 9,748.61. The broader market indexes were mixed. The Nasdaq composite index was up 10.18, or 0.5 percent, at 1,935.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 0.13, or 0.01 percent, at 1,044.55.
News from companies reporting third-quarter profits has been generally good, but has underwhelmed investors who pushed stocks higher in anticipation of robust results. For many stocks, the gains being reported are already reflected in share prices, said Jack Caffrey, equities strategist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
"Unless they're going to tell a very compelling story or show dramatic improvements, investors are more inclined to take some of these profits," Caffrey said. "I think we're going to be seeing some very choppy trading over the next several weeks."
After the market closed Monday, Texas Instruments said its third-quarter profits more than doubled on rising sales in the semiconductor market. The results beat analysts' consensus forecast by 2 cents a share. Texas Instruments rose $1.75, or 6.8 percent, to $27.42.
AT&T Corp. said Tuesday its third-quarter earnings doubled as it continued to cut costs. But revenues at the nation's largest long distance company fell 8.1 percent and officials revealed that employees had improperly understated expenses by $125 million in 2001 and 2002. AT&T dropped $1.27, or 6.03 percent, to $19.80.
Eastman Kodak Co. was up 61 cents, or 2.6 percent, at $23.73, after a group of shareholders said they would ask the company to reconsider its plan to sharply reduce its dividend as it make aggressive strides into the digital camera market, stepping back from its film business. The company is to report earnings Wednesday.
Advancing issues slightly outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 422.68 million shares traded, compared to 318.93 million at the same point Monday.
The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller company stocks, was up 4.07, or 0.8 percent, at 524.43.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 1.2 percent lower Tuesday. In afternoon trading in Europe, France's CAC-40 advanced 0.1 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent and Germany's DAX index lost 0.2 percent.
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