Wall Street: Thursday close

MARKETS tumbled to their fifth straight loss as the televised interrogation of former

Analysts said the televised hearings captured investor interest, sapped enthusiasm and raised anew worries about the integrity of company accounting. 'There's huge confusion in the market, with the term 'accounting' being used very loosely these days,' said John Waterman, managing director at investment firm Rittenhouse Financial. 'Confidence has been shattered and the losss in confidence has been overdone under this umbrella.'

But, while the hearings may have weighed on investor sentiment generally, several of the companies hammered in the past few weeks due to their complex accounting were among the biggest winners. Conglomerate Tyco International rebounded $2.18 or 8.4% to $28.10 after the company again sought to put to rest concerns over its balance sheet.

Telco WorldCom regained 83 cents or 12.4% to $7.52 as it calmed concerns over its cash position. Energy company Williams rose 39 cents or 2.6% to $15.24. Energy trader Calpine snapped back $1.34 or 20% to $8.14. General Electric was up fractionally at $37.20. IBM was an exception, falling dipped $2.72 or 2.6% to $103.91 in a generally weak tech sector.

Financials held on to minor gains. JP Morgan, which has been buffetted by concern over its exposure to troubled companies and derivatives, ticked up 63 cents or 2.1% to $30.07. Citigroup improved marginally to $44.14.

Insurance giant AIG managed a gain of 36 cents or 0.5% to $71.11 after it said its exposure to Enron helped cut profits. AT&T advanced 30 cents or 1.9% to $15.90 in a stronger telecom sector.

Techs were held back by sober remarks from Cisco Systems chief executive John Chambers, who said that sales would be flat and that the company had 'limited visibility in the short term.' A stronger than expected quarterly earnings report had boosted Cisco shares in after-hours trading on Wednesday, but they fell back $1.55 or 8.3% to $17.06. Intel shed 61 cents or 1.9% to $32.31. Microsoft lost 60 cents or 1% to $59.80.

ExxonMobil fell 39 cents or 1% to $38.30 in a weaker energy sector.