Dow Retreats From Record, Stays Above 6,000

The Dow Jones industrial average see-sawed sharply Tuesday, ending slightly lower, as investors alternated between excitement over good earnings news and profit-taking on the Dow’s historic close above 6,000 on Monday.

Most stock measures also fell, but the technology-rich Nasdaq market managed a small gain.

The Dow fell 5.22 to 6,004.78, rebounding from a nearly 40-point deficit that followed an early 34-point gain. On Monday, the famed blue-chip barometer notched its first close above 6,000, strolling to a 40-point gain in light holiday trading.

Some big deals - an $8.4 billion rail merger between CSX and Conrail and a $1.5 billion takeover by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway - spiced up the session, but trading was dominated by the first barrage of third-quarter earnings reports, which were largely encouraging.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 6-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume totaled 458.88 million shares as of 4 p.m., up sharply from Monday’s lazy holiday pace.

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

NYSE

CSX, down 2-3/4 at 46-3/4.

Conrail, up 14-1/8 at 85-1/8.

Richmond, Va.-based CSX agreed to buy Philadelphia-based Conrail for $8.4 billion to create one of the world’s biggest freight and rail companies.

FlightSafety International, up 5-3/8 at 49-1/4.

Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s Omaha-based investment company, agreed to pay $1.5 billion to buy FlightSafety, a New York-based operator of pilot training centers.

AT&T, up 5/8 at 39-3/8.

C. Michael Armstrong, chairman and chief executive of Hughes Electronics, is the leading candidate to become AT&T’s president and eventual successor to Chairman Robert E. Allen, The New York Times reported.

General Motors, up 1/4 at 52-1/8.

The world’s largest automaker’s third-quarter profit nearly doubled to $1.27 billion, or $1.57 a share.

NASDAQ

Intel, up 3-1/2 at 111-1/8.

Spurred by a record $5.14 billion in sales, the world’s biggest chipmaker reported a 41 percent gain in third-quarter profit.

U.S. Robotics, up 8-7/8 at 78.

The Skokie, Ill.-based modem maker announced plans to unveil a new technology, possibly a high-speed modem.

Chips & Technologies, up 4-7/8 at 19-3/4.

The supplier of specialized semiconductor and software for video and graphics reported earnings of $9.45 million, or 42 cents a share, for its first quarter ended Sept. 30, beating analysts expectations.