Wall Street: Tuesday close

INVESTORS who loaded up on shares on Monday seemed to lose their conviction on cautious comments issued by company heads. And after-hour warnings from two big tech names could weigh on trading today (Wednesday.)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18.70 points or 0.19%to 9706.123 in a tentative follow-through to Monday's 213-point gain. The Nasdaq slipped 10.47 points or 0.67% to 1542.82 and earnings news out after the closing buzzer fell on the negative side.

Advanced Micro Devices blamed 'broad weakness' in the personal computer business for cutting its second quarter forecasts. AMD shares closed down 50 cents or 4.6% to $10.30 in regular trading. Apple Computer said weaker revenues in Europe and Japan were partly to blame for a roughly 10% reduction in its quarterly revenue projections. Apple shares fell 39 cents or 2% to $20.15.

Software company Oracle topped quarterly expectations and its shares, off 27 cents or 3% to $8.93 in regular trading, jumped 11% in extended hours.

Economic data out was positive with new housing starts soaring 12% in May, their biggest jump in seven years, and consumer price inflation coming in just below expectations. But investors remain uncertain about the strength of the recovery and whether it will be robust enough to boost profits.

General Electric's chief executive Jeffrey Immelt said he was 'guardedly optimistic' on the economy. But he indicated that he was not seeing the strength many economists have forecast. 'There is still excess capacity in some big chunks of the economy, which means that a recovery may not be extremely robust and may take some time,' Immelt said. GE shares rose 64 cents or 2% to $31.15.

Investors bought stocks that had been among the hardest hit in the month-long market slide. AOL Time Warner regained 45 cents or 2.7% to $17.05. Conglomerate Tyco International rebounded 71 cents or 5% to $14.80. Qwest Communications, which saw its chief executive resign under pressure at the weekend, added 14 cents or 2.8% to $5.14.

Among techs, Microsoft was fractionally higher at $55.99. Intel traded down 54 cents or 2.4% to $22.02. IBM came off $1.20 or 1.6% to $75.94 as Morgan Stanley lowered its sales forecast.

Financials which had led Monday's advance were mixed. Citigroup edged down marginally to $43.07, while American Express rose 50 cents or 1.3% to $38.70.