Stocks Dip on Earnings Mix

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– National

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Stocks finished an up-and-down session with a loss Wednesday as investors focused on a mix of earnings reports and weighed the odds of a yearend rally that would give the flagging stock market a boost.


The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32.89, or 0.3 percent, to 10,344.98. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 5.16, or 0.4 percent, to 1,191.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 9.40, or 0.5 percent, to 2,100.05.


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Read the full Associated Press story

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– Local

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Shares of VCA Antech Inc. jumped 9.1 percent to $25.94 after the company reported third-quarter net income and revenue figures that trounced analysts’ estimates. The L.A.-based animal healthcare services company’s fourth quarter, full-year and 2006 estimates also matched or beat estimates.


Digital Insight Corp. rose 7 percent to $28.79 after the Calabasas-based outsourced online banking applications provider’s third quarter adjusted earnings came out ahead of Wall Street’s forecast.


Computer Sciences Corp. edged up 2.7 percent to $50 after the Wall Street Journal reported that Lockheed Martin Corp. is part of a group of companies looking to purchase the El Segundo-based computer-services company. The buyout plans are in the early stages.


And shares of Guitar Center Inc. fell 16.7 percent to $50.92 a day after the Westlake Village-based musical instrument retailer reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that came in below analyst estimates. Sales at the company’s Musician’s Friend and Music & Arts units were less than expected due to competitive pressures, said Piper Jaffray Co. analyst Mitchell A. Kaiser in a research note. He also lowered Guitar Center’s full-year earnings and sales growth estimates.

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