Dow Bobs and Weaves But Can't Dodge Record Oil Prices

NEW YORK, Oct. 25 -- Wall Street closed slightly lower in erratic trading Thursday as investors uneasy about the credit markets and record-high oil prices found little consolation in new-home sales data and durable goods orders.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 3.33, or 0.02 percent, to 13,671.92 after changing direction several times. It was briefly down more than 100 points. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 1.48, or 0.10 percent, to 1514.40, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 23.90, or 0.86 percent, to 2750.86.

The Commerce Department said sales of new homes rose 4.8 percent in September from August. The market initially moved up on the data, as economists had predicted a decline. But it pulled back because the sales increase was due to a big downward revision in August's numbers and because, to move inventory, homebuilders had offered discounts in September.

Another report showed that orders of big-ticket items, one gauge of business spending, fell 1.7 percent in September, following August's 5.3 percent drop.

Meanwhile, investors also had to contend with higher energy prices, and credit worries continued to dog the market.

Crude futures rose $3.36 to close at $90.46 a barrel over concerns about OPEC countries not meeting demand for oil.

Speculation that insurer American International Group might suffer credit costs weighed on the Dow, which later rebounded.

Mixed earnings reports added to investors' uncertainty about the economy's direction. Motorola and data-storage specialist EMC showed respectable growth, but Comcast and Symantec disappointed investors.

The dollar fell against most other major currencies, except the yen, while gold prices rose.

Movers

---

Motorola rose 76 cents, to $19.31, after posting a third-quarter profit, its first quarterly profit this year.

EMC gained $1.97, to $24.40, after reporting that its third-quarter profit rose 77 percent.

Symantec tumbled $2.52, to $18.50, after it issued disappointing guidance.

Comcast fell $2.57, to $21.28, after it missed Wall Street expectations.