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NEW YORK — Yet another round of profit warnings brought high-tech stocks sharply lower and quashed a blue chip advance Wednesday. The prospect of another disappointing quarter outweighed investors’ short-lived relief over an apparent end to the presidential election deadlock. 

Tech stocks sagged in response to the latest high-tech earnings warning, issued by Compaq Computer after the market closed Tuesday. A drop in retail sales during November added to the market’s skittishness. “The earnings warnings are getting pretty thick,” said Charles White, portfolio manager at Avatar Associates. “When you’ve got retail sales slumping as much as they have and you’ve got consumers as uneasy as they are, these things start to weigh on the marketplace.” 

Blue chips got a slight bump up. But an earnings warning by Whirlpool and weaker-than-expected November retail sales caused the Dow Jones industrials to retreat from an early 120-point advance. 

The market had an early surge in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision late Tuesday that apparently gave the presidency to Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Wall Street.  

But analysts said investors’ chief concern is still that the economy is slowing at a faster than desirable pace and that earnings will suffer.  

That worry eased but wasn’t erased when late last week Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan indicated the Fed might be inclined to lower interest rates early next year. 

The attention to earnings pushed the election’s resolution into the background Wednesday. 

“The question is: Will it be in time to avert a dramatic slowdown in the economy that will revert to a hard land here in the United States and overseas?” said White, the analyst for Avatar. 

Some say the market is ready to rally on good news from the Fed, which is expected to say that inflation poses less of a risk to the economy when it meets Tuesday.  

Such an announcement could be a precursor to the Fed lowering interest rates in the new year. 

“We have found the bottom,” said Chris Dickerson, market analyst for Global Market Strategists in Gainesville, Ga.  

“We’re still going to get the ’ho, ho, ho’ rally at the end of the year. Any pullbacks now are corrections in a market that is going to go higher ... The weakness should be temporary because the Fed is on the side of the market.” 

Retailing and auto stocks were mixed after the Commerce Department reported retail sales fell by a surprising 0.4 percent in November. Last month’s performance, the weakest since April, was led by the biggest drop in auto sales in more than two years. 

General Motors rose $1.44 to $53.19, but Wal-Mart fell $1.56 to $50.31. 

Whirlpool tumbled $2.75 to $41.44 after saying Wednesday fourth-quarter profits would be well below expectations. The company also announced a restructuring plan that includes job cuts around the world. 

Compaq lost $2.67, finishing at $18.10. The computer maker was the latest big tech company to warn that slumping sales will result in disappointing fourth-quarter earnings. 

Compaq’s warning hurt other computer makers and software companies. Dell Computer gave up $1.27, closing at $20.44, and Microsoft fell $1.13 to $57.25. 

Claire’s Stores slid $2.56 to $16.75 after announcing fourth-quarter earnings will fall short of expectations. Likewise, General Semiconductor fell $1.63 to $8.75. 

Papa John’s International skidded $4.94 to $21.88. The pizza chain said late Tuesday fourth-quarter profits will be weak and that next year’s results could miss analysts’ expectations by as much as 20 percent. 

Wall Street might have chosen to concentrate on earnings because it isn’t convinced the election impasse has ended, reasoned one analyst. 

“Until this election is resolved by means of a concession speech, seeing is believing, and Wall Street is still somewhat uninspired,” said Alan Ackerman, executive vice president of Fahnestock & Co. 

Still, certain sectors, such as pharmaceuticals and tobacco, made big advances based on the view that their businesses will fare better under Bush. 

Drug maker Pfizer gained $1.81, trading at $45.81, and food and tobacco maker Philip Morris rose $2.50 to $40.81. 

The Russell 2000 index was down 7.85 at 469.91. 

Declining issues led advancers by 7 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume totaled 1.42 billion shares, well ahead of 1.36 billion on Tuesday. 

Overseas markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.4 percent, and Britain’s FT-SE 100 gained 0.2 percent. But Germany’s DAX index fell 1.7 percent, and France’s CAC-40 lost 1.4 percent. 

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