December Struggles Continue

As we get further from the November rally, the stock market is looking shakier. Tuesday's sharp afternoon reversal -- which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average lose 80% of a 100-point gain in the final hour of trading -- continued Wednesday, although the final hour was kinder on this day.

After trading as low as 10,764, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 45.95 points, or 0.42%, at 10,810.91. The S&P 500 fell 6.33 points, or 0.5%, to 1257.37 -- off its intraday low of 1253 -- and the Nasdaq Composite fell 8.75 points, or 0.39%, to 2252.01, also well off its intraday low of 2244.

Traders hesitated ahead of the release of Texas Instruments' (TXN) midquarter update after the close, to be followed by Intel's (INTC) Thursday. TI finished up 0.8% and Intel lost 1.95%. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Sector Index lost 1.19%.

"There is some concern that we may not be getting what we expect from" these techs leaders, says Owen Fitzpatrick, head of Deutsche Bank's U.S. equity group.

If this concern were more than skin-deep, stocks could be in for a rebound Thursday given that TI lifted its fourth-quarter earnings guidance after the close of trading. The stock was recently up 1.7% in after-hours trading.

Recent bullishness has been most evident in semiconductor stocks, which have largely led the tech sector and the broader market higher since the November lows.

But after both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hit four-year highs -- 2278.16 and 1272.89 respectively -- intraday Tuesday, bulls seemed to be having a hard time selling their case.

Energy shares weighed on the broad index Wednesday as crude oil lost 73 cents to 59.21 a barrel after a bearish inventory report. The Amex Oil index fell 1% although the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Oil Service Sector Index did rise 0.3%.