Market Update: Indices Make U-Turn Into Green

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite Index opened in a huff this morning, but had lately let off a lot of steam. Having traded down more than 50 points this morning, the blue-chip index was out of its funk.

Dow components Merck (MRK Quote), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ Quote), General Motors (GM Quote) and American Express (AXP Quote) were all trading higher in recent action.

On the heels of high-profile earnings warnings from Nortel (NT Quote) and Palm (PALM Quote) on Tuesday night, investors hit the sell button yesterday. But they let go of it this morning, even as the earnings and economic outlook remain uncertain.

Major Indices INDEX CHANGE % VALUE Dow 33.69 0.34% 9,819.04 S&P 500 1.78 0.15% 1155.07 Nasdaq 9.94 0.54% 1864.07 Russell 2000 0.82 -0.19% 441.38 TSC Internet 2.34 -1.08% 215.26 NOTE CHANGE PRICE YIELD 10-Year Treasury 10/32 100 8/32 4.965% Market data as of: 10:40 a.m. EST, Thursday, March 29, 2001

After the market spent several days on the upswing, Wall Street pros began to speculate that investor sentiment had finally improved. On Tuesday, the Consumer Confidence Index for March came in better than expected. Having traded in bear-market territory, or 20% off its all-time high, last Thursday afternoon, the Dow had reversed course and continued to rise -- until yesterday.

Still, a couple of warnings from tech companies after the market closed yesterday were affecting the market today. Data-storage equipmentmaker JNI(JNIC Quote), down 12.3% to $8, and equipmentmaker Tech Data(TECD Quote), up 5.7% to $27.81, both lowered their future quarterly targets.

A few pieces of economic data released before the market opened did little to change market sentiment. The final reading of fourth-quarter gross domestic product came in at 1%, just a tick below economists' forecasts. GDP has slowed markedly from second quarter of last year, when it hit 5.6%.