Stock Market Is Uninspired By Fed’s Meeting

Stocks were mixed Tuesday as a day of big economic news played out according to script, but failed to inspire investors worried about company profits for the just-ended third quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average took another brief journey above the 8,000 mark, but wound up falling 46.17 to 7,945.26 by the close despite rebounding from an early 54-point loss.

Smaller-company shares pushed some measures further into record territory. But several broadmarket indexes trailed lower with the Dow after the Federal Reserve, as expected, again decided not to combat inflationary pressures by slowing the economy with a boost in the central bank’s lending rates.

Similarly, a series of economic reports released Tuesday morning revealed no surprises that would undermine the outlook for steady economic growth with low inflation and interest rates.

“Everything is still on track for that middle-of-the-road economy,” said Barbara Marcin, senior equity portfolio manager at Citibank Global Asset Management. “Most of (Tuesday’s) trading may have been moved by quarter-end window dressing, with people kicking out things they don’t want to show in the portfolio.”

Some of the stocks that traded heavily or moved substantially Tuesday:

NYSE

ITT, up 5-1/4 at 67-3/4.

A federal judge ruled Monday against ITT’s plan to split into three companies without shareholder approval. The ruling threw a roadblock in ITT’s attempt to thwart a hostile takeover bid by Hilton Hotels, which has offered $11.5 billion, or $70 a share, for ITT.

Western Digital, down 9 at 40.

The computer disk-drive maker warned late Monday that its profit for its first quarter ending Tuesday will be well below analyst estimates. Western Digital, based in Pasadena, Calif., also said it will cut second-quarter production.

Battle Mountain Gold, up 3/4 at 7-3/16.

Barrick Gold, up 3/4 at 24-11/16.

Several mining stocks rose after a boost in gold and silver prices in commodities trading.

NASDAQ

Ascend Communications, down 2-7/8 at 32-3/8.

The computer networking concern warned late Monday of disappointing third-quarter results and said its current projections for revenue and earnings growth are below analyst expectations.

Quantum, down 3-5/8 at 38-13/16.

Bear Stearns downgraded the disk-drive maker’s shares from “buy” to “attractive,” the Dow Jones News Service reported.

AMEX

Daxor, up 3-1/2 at 13-5/8 The FDA approved the New York-based company’s BVA-100 Blood Volume Analyzer, which measures blood levels in the human body.