NEW YORK, March 2 -- Stocks ended close to unchanged levels Wednesday after a roller-coaster session that saw shares climb on bullish testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan about the state of the economy, only to be knocked down by anxiety over pricey oil.
Greenspan was upbeat about the economy in remarks to the House Budget Committee, and did not suggest there would be any major changes in the Fed's monetary policy, which was a welcome relief to rate-wary investors. But the short-term cheer over his comments was not enough to allay the market's deeper concerns, particularly as crude futures rallied past $53 a barrel to a four-month high.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.03, or 0.2 percent, to 10,811.97. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index inched down 0.33, or 0.03 percent, to 1210.08. The Nasdaq composite index declined 3.75, or 0.2 percent, to 2067.50.
Oil worries, combined with persistent concerns about inflation and interest rates, have made for a difficult market, and analysts think more volatility lies ahead. This has contributed to a "one step forward, two steps back" climate for stocks, said Peter Cardillo, chief strategist with S.W. Bach.
MCI rose 9 cents, to $23.45, after the long-distance provider's merger partner, Verizon Communications, said MCI could have two weeks to examine a competing bid from Qwest Communications International. The announcement came a day after Qwest executives made a direct appeal to MCI to reconsider its $8 billion bid over Verizon's lower-priced deal. Qwest fell 12 cents, to $3.93, while Verizon rose 22 cents, to $36.47.
American Eagle Outfitters rose 6.5 percent, or $3.57, to $58.87, after its fourth-quarter profit nearly tripled as same-store sales rose sharply. Earnings of $1.32 per share beat forecasts by analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call by 7 cents. Costco Wholesale fell 3.6 percent, or $1.69, to $45.02, after its earnings missed Wall Street estimates by a penny, excluding charges.
Lear slid 11 percent, or $5.76, to $47, a day after the automotive interior systems supplier slashed its first-quarter earnings forecast, citing industry production cuts. Several brokerage houses cut their ratings on the stock, including Wachovia, Lehman, Prudential and Morgan Stanley.
AutoZone gained $1, to $98.33, after its second-quarter profit rose more than 30 percent thanks to a tax benefit, lower costs and a boost in sales attributed to lower fuel prices.
Other Indicators
• The New York Stock Exchange composite index fell 7.89, to 7343.14; the American Stock Exchange index fell 1.15, to 1514.63; and the Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 1.20, to 637.33.
• Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by 7 to 6 on the NYSE, where trading volume fell to 1.57 billion shares, from 1.71 billion on Tuesday. On the Nasdaq Stock Market, decliners outnumbered advancers by 9 to 7 and volume totaled 2.01 billion, up from 1.94 billion.
• The price of the Treasury's 10-year note fell 31 cents per $1,000 invested, and its yield rose to 4.38 percent, from 4.37 percent on Tuesday.
• The dollar rose against the Japanese yen and the euro. In late New York trading, a dollar bought 104.67 yen, up from 104.26 late Tuesday, and a euro bought $1.3129, down from $1.3183.
• Light, sweet crude oil for April delivery settled at $53.05, up $1.37, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
• Gold for current delivery fell to $432.80 a troy ounce, from $432.90 on Tuesday, on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Commodity Exchange.
