Stocks were mixed Thursday on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average sinking under the weight of Merck while the broad market held its own. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 55.97 points to close at 10,080.27. The S&P 500 was down 0.22 to 1,114.58, and the Nasdaq composite added 2.90 to 1,896.84. Advances led declines, 1939-1325, on the New York Stock Exchange in volume of 1,743,781,000 shares. On Nasdaq, advances led declines, 1737-1333.

Merck & Co. (N:MRK), -$12.07 to $33.00 as the most active NYSE issue, tumbled after yanking its arthritis and pain medication Vioxx from the market, effective immediately, due to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke after 18 months. Merck said fiscal 2004 earnings will be negatively impacted by 50 to 60 cents per share. Previous guidance had been for earnings of $3.11-$3.17 per share in 2004.

(AP) "I think the Merck bombshell has certainly superseded anything else we might have gotten today," said Bryan Piskorowski, market analyst at Wachovia Securities. "Merck is going to keep us in the trading range we've been in all week, and I think we'll be in that range for the short term, at least until earnings come out in a few weeks."

(AP) Pfizer (N:PFE), +$0.42 to $30.60 as the second most active NYSE issue, rallied on the Vioxx news. Pfizer makes the rival drug Celebrex.

Bonds were lower, the 10-year note yield rising to 4.12% from 4.09% late Wednesday. Personal income climbed 0.4% in August, matching expectations, while personal spending was unchanged. An increase of 0.1% had been expected. The Chicago purchasing managers' index for September was stronger than expected at 61.3 versus expectations of 58.0. The Dow open, theoretical intraday high and low: 10136.38; 10155.49; 9987.36.