Packard issued a disappointing financial outlook, dealing another blow to tech investors after Tuesday's announcement from Cisco Systems Inc. that inventories were rising and customers were cautious in their spending. Trading was active, with 1.41 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the same as the daily average for last year. About 1.61 billion shares were traded on Nasdaq, compared with a daily average of 1.69 billion last year. Decliners outnumbered advancers 3 to 1 on the NYSE and on Nasdaq. Crude prices on Thursday closed at $45.50 after peaking at $45.75, the highest level since NYMEX launched oil futures 21 years ago. Retail data gave a mixed picture of consumer spending. While U.S. retail sales rebounded in July, they posted a smaller-than-expected gain. Retailers reporting on Thursday had mixed fortunes. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. reported slightly better-than-expected earnings as demand for high-profit items like back-to-school clothing made up for sluggish summer sales. Wal-Mart rose $1.02, or nearly 2 percent, to $52.65. Target was up $1.48, or nearly 4 percent, to $41.90. Among the technology shares, Hewlett-Packard tumbled after the Dow component posted disappointing quarterly earnings. HP also warned about fiscal fourth-quarter expectations. Hewlett-Packard dropped $2.57, or about 13 percent, to $16.95, making it the biggest drag on the blue-chip Dow and the S&P 500. Cisco fell 50 cents, or 2.73 percent, to $17.79. After the bell, Dell Inc. the world's largest personal computer maker, posted a higher quarterly profit as demand for personal computers and servers improved. Dell shares closed down 45 cents to $33.12. In after hours trading they rose to $33.42 on the INET electronic brokerage system.
