Markets Finish Mixed On Wednesday, Tech Weak

September 3, 2008 5:44 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - It was a choppy trading day for the markets as all three major indices traded from negative to positive several times before settling mixed for the session. Meanwhile, oil prices fell for the second time this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial average was the only positive index on Wednesday adding 16 points or 0.14 percent. Large gains in General Motors, up 5.8 percent and Home Depot, up 4.5 percent helped the Dow produce a gain. Home Depot shares got a bump after CEO Frank Blake said the housing decline may be near.

The S&P 500 posted a loss of 2 points or 0.2 percent. The consumer discretionary stocks helped the S&P pare some losses as the sector gained 0.5 percent sparked by a 1.6 percent rise in the retail stocks.

The tech sector was the weakest on Wednesday, down 1.7 percent, leading the Nasdaq Composite down 15 points or 0.66 percent. The semiconductor stocks fell 4.2 percent after Corning issued a warning for its third quarter profits due to lower LCD glass shipments, citing excessive inventory within the industry.

Coca-Cola made headlines on Wednesday after announcing an acquisition deal for a Chinese juice company worth $2.4 billion.

The price of crude oil continued its volatile trading getting as low as $107.22 a barrel in the early morning before paring most of the loss. The commodity settled at $109.35, down 29 cents a barrel.

On the economic front, the Federal Reserve released their latest beige book, giving an overview of the economic state as of Aug 25. On a whole, the 12 Federal Reserve Districts cited the economy as "weak", "slow" or "subdued" since the last report On July 23.

July factory orders were also reported and remained strong, up 1.3 percent, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth.

Due to the holiday shortened week, weekly crude inventories are reported tomorrow at 10:35 a.m. ET.