Stocks Shed Gains in Morning Trade NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock prices wobbled in early morning trading on Tuesday as data showing a whopping U.S. trade deficit spooked investors snatching up select technology issues from the bargain basement. The investors were seen emboldened by a number of upbeat corporate scorecards issued after Monday's close or early Tuesday, from the likes of Agilent Technologies Inc (A.N), the electronics testing and manufacturing company. But analysts said a rebound rally was likely to be held in check by a Commerce Department report early Tuesday that showed the U.S. trade deficit for September at a record $34.26 billion, up from a revised deficit of $29.81 billion in August. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was up 17.95 points, or 0.62 percent, at 2893.59. It had fallen into negative territory, after having risen had risen by as much as 1.50 percent early on, regaining part of the previous day's whopping 5 percent slide that took it closing below the key 3,000-point level for the second time this year. The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was up 14.03 points, or 0.13 percent, at 10,423.97 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was up 0.61 points, or 0.05 percent, at 1,343.23. The trade deficit stoked fears that U.S. economy was cooling too much and that corporate bottom lines would in turn suffer. ``Exports are down and imports are up and that's not a good sign and that is cutting into the initial gains,'' said Peter Cardillo, director of research at Westfalia Investments. ``It says the economy is slowing and the reality is you're not exporting ... and the manufacturing sector continues to slow.'' The lingering uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections was also casting a pall on the market, despite what some analysts said was hope that the nagging question of who will be America's next president would be settled soon. Nasdaq's early advance was led by bellwethers like Intel Corp (INTC.O),the No. 1 computer chip maker, and software giant Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), which held their gains and also helped the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) as components of the 30-company index. Bargain hunters were seen going to work in the tech sector, said Alan Ackerman, senior vice president and market strategist at Fahnestock & Co after the Nasdaq hit a 13-month low yesterday. But he also warned that rallies may not be sustainable given the nagging uncertainty over the U.S. elections' outcome with a lot of money sitting on the sidelines for now. Investors' worries that a slower U.S. economy could crimp the growth of high-technology companies, on Monday slammed the technology heavy Nasdaq market to its lowest close in more than a year. Among the issues to continue to bleed was Internet infrastructure company Juniper Networks (JNPR.O), which had led the decline Monday after its investment rating was cut by leading brokerage Morgan Stanley on fears the company and some of its rivals will see a slowing U.S. economy eat into demand for their products.
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