NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks trimmed losses on Friday as financial shares recovered from an earlier fall, but the Dow and S&P 500 were pressured by weak corporate earnings and jitters over the outlook for the rest of the year.
The Nasdaq was the best performing index, briefly climbing into positive territory although it struggled to stay there. The index was helped by Internet leader GOOGLE (GOOG.NQ)
But fueling worries of how 2009 will fare, bellwether General Electric
"GE really represents the whole market. GE is the bellwether because they operate in almost all segments of the market and there's no segment here that you can really look at and say that looks good," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.
"On average companies are saying they expect a very, very challenging year and that's part of what's causing the problem," he said.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 123.13 points, or 1.52 percent, at 7,999.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 5.91 points, or 0.71 percent, to 821.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> edged up 1.38 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,466.87.
The earnings season so far has been a weak one, as expected, with companies announcing a slew of job cuts and giving a grim outlook for the year ahead but there have been some bright spots, particularly in the tech sector.
The S&P financial index <.GSPF> turned around to edge up 0.4 percent, while JPMorgan Chase
The group has been hard hit recently by worries over the health of the sector and the possibility banks will have to raise more capital.
(Reporting by Leah Schnurr, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
