NEW YORK - Stocks were mixed in early trading Wednesday after technology leader Intel Corp. announced disappointing earnings and a dim outlook.

The market was edgy, particularly after a plunge Tuesday that took the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 280 points. Investor patience has been tested by economists' predictions that a recession is at hand and by unsteadiness in the financial sector, where many banks are struggling to restore damaged balance sheets.
Intel's failure to meet earnings and revenue forecasts for the fourth quarter and new first-quarter revenue guidance that is at the low end of analysts' forecasts weighed on investors. Earlier this week there was market speculation that the technology sector, which sometimes benefits from a weak dollar and overseas strength, might be able to withstand the weakness sweeping other parts of the economy.
The technology sector saw some cheer Wednesday, thanks Oracle Corp.'s deal to buy BEA Systems Inc. for about $7.85 billion. Last year BEA rejected a less expensive bid from Oracle, which raised its offer but not to the level sought by BEA.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Wednesday offered a first-quarter earnings report that revealed relatively light exposure to the subprime lending crisis as it booked a write-down of $1.3 billion, which was smaller than the massive losses of peers like Citigroup Inc. The company had a quarterly profit that fell below analysts' expectations.
In the first minutes of trading, the Dow fell 4.71, or 0.04 percent, to 12,496.40.
Broader stock indicators were narrowly mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.51, or 0.04 percent, to 1,381.46, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 17.30, or 0.72 percent, to 2,400.29.
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