Mixed End to Rocky Day for Stocks

Hospital operator HCA(HCA Quote) said it expects third-quarter earnings of 61 cents to 63 cents a share on revenue of $6 billion. The company said the outlook includes costs of 5 cents a share from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as a tax benefit of $22 million from the repatriation of foreign earnings. The Thomson First Call consensus is for EPS of 66 cents on revenue of $6.03 billion.

HCA also announced plans to buy back up to 50 million shares through a $2.5 billion Dutch auction, which is expected to begin on Oct. 14. Shares of HCA were higher by 16 cents, or 0.3%, to close at $46.53.

Arris Group(ARRS Quote) said late Wednesday that it now expects third-quarter earnings of 16 cents to 18 cents a share on revenue between $197 million and $201 million, thanks to strong demand. Previously, the telecom company had expected EPS of 12 cents to 15 cents and revenue between $180 million to $190 million. Shares added 77 cents, or 7.1%, to $10.15.

Shares of hard drive maker Maxtor(MXO Quote) finished lower after J.P. Morgan analysts lowered their investment rating to underweight on concerns about the pace of a turnaround. Maxtor fell 23 cents, or 5.4% to $4.

J.P. Morgan downgraded Seagate Technology(STX Quote) to neutral from overweight, citing concerns over industry economics into 2006. Seagate lost 48 cents, or 3.1%, to $14.99.

Overseas stocks were mostly lower, with London's FTSE 100 down 1.4% to 5265 and Germany's Xetra DAX off 0.6% to 4950. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei lost 0.1% overnight to 13,449, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched up 0.3% to 14,622.