Stocks end mixed as investors worry about economy

NEW YORK — Wall Street spent another session buffeted by volatility Thursday, closing mixed after investors wrestled with their fears about the economy but also looked for bargains after two days of selling. While the Dow Jones industrials and Standard & Poor's 500 index rose sharply, a downdraft in tech stocks left the Nasdaq composite index with a loss.

Buying came in spurts and then often quickly evaporated as investors fretted that the economy is either in a recession or headed for one. A two-day selloff that sliced nearly 750 points from the Dow drew some investors back into the market, but they gravitated largely toward big-name stocks seen as safer bets.

"I think that people feel that it's got to stop sliding someplace and they're looking basically for bargains," said Scott Fullman, director of derivatives investment strategy for WJB Capital Group in New York. "The analogy I'm using right now is that you can buy a BMW at Toyota prices. But there is still concern that better bargains can be had."

With its gyrations, Wall Street is living up to predictions that trading will remain volatile as investors try to test whether the market has formed a bottom.

Manny Weintraub, president of Integre Advisors in New York, said that several of the market's attempts to rally have been short-circuited by sellers who had awaiting an opportunity to cash out and that some investors looking to snap up inexpensive stocks are worried about getting burned by further declines.

"A lot of bargain hunters came in last week and now that money has been spent and they can't hunt twice," he said.

Wall Street's jitters came as investors tried to extract clues about where the economy is headed from a mix of corporate news.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is preparing to cut about 10 percent of its work force, according to a person briefed on the plan who requested anonymity because the company hadn't publicly disclosed details of the plan. Meanwhile, Amazon.com Inc. lowered its revenue guidance for the year amid a weakening economy. Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. said it recorded a loss for the third quarter after booking a write-down of almost $1.5 billion for an expected settlement of an investigation into the marketing of its top-selling drug, Zyprexa. Dow Chemical Co. said its quarterly profit rose 6 percent, helped by price hikes that offset a nearly 50 percent increase in raw materials and energy costs.