Stocks Give Up Gains In Last Hour, Finish Mixed

TIM PARADIS

NEW YORK (AP) — A late-day slump left stocks mixed Wednesday as investors couldn't hold on to their optimism after the Federal Reserve gave an encouraging assessment of the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average, up more than 150 points after the Fed described the economy as showing more signs of recovery, closed up 30. Broader indexes were narrowly mixed.

Stocks could get a lift Thursday from Cisco Systems Inc., which reported posted better quarterly earnings and sales than expected after the closing bell. John Chambers, CEO of the maker of computer-networking gear, struck an optimistic tone in a conference call with analysts and said orders continue to rebound.

Analysts couldn't point to any one reason why stocks gave up their gains late Wednesday, although some said the market is nervous as the release of the government's October jobs report on Friday approaches. Financial stocks fell especially hard in the last hour of trading after a House vote to speed up the effective date of limits on credit card companies, and added to the overall market's pullback.

The Fed, as expected, left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of essentially zero and said the economy is slowly rebounding. Its announcement followed reports earlier in the day on service industries and employment that eased some worries about the economy.