Stocks Post Slight Losses

Updated from 4:07 p.m. EDT

Stocks ended slightly lower Wednesday, despite an encouraging quarterly report from Intel(INTC Quote - Cramer on INTC - Stock Picks).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost almost 10 points to 9803.05, while the Nasdaq fell 4 points to 1939.10. The S&P 500 shed 2 points to 1046.76.

Volume amounted to almost 1.5 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange and practically 2 billion shares on the Nasdaq. Decliners led advancers by a 3-to-2 margin in both bourses.

Treasuries were lower, with the 10-year down 13/32 to yield 4.4%.

Intel beat analysts' expectations for third-quarter sales and earnings, and forecast a solid rise in profit in the fourth quarter. Analysts at Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney raised their price targets on the stock, while reiterating their buy ratings. Shares advanced 77 cents, or 2.5%, to $31.85. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.3%.

Jim Melcher, market strategist at Balestra Capital, said investors are getting mixed news, with Intel sounding "very positive, but not overly optimistic by any means." He added, "It definitely wasn't enough news to justify the current valuation. Also, revenues didn't grow at Harley-Davidson(HDI Quote - Cramer on HDI - Stock Picks), and that, the company cannot meddle with."

Harley-Davidson beat Wall Street projections, but the stock was down amid concerns about the company's flat revenue. Shares fell $3.35, or 6.4%, to $49.10.

General Motors(GM Quote - Cramer on GM - Stock Picks) beat its third-quarter guidance, as profit rose 30% to $425 million. The automaker also said it expects to exceed Wall Street's full-year 2003 earnings estimates of $5 a share. Still, GM shed 31 cents, or 0.7%, to $43.66.

The financial sector was in focus after FleetBoston Financial(FBF Quote - Cramer on FBF - Stock Picks) beat third-quarter profit estimates with a 17% increase. Nonetheless, shares lost 14 cents, or 0.4%, to $32.49.

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