NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:

[Aussiejeff]

"A fractious Wall Street rebounded from an early plunge to finish moderately higher Thursday, after Standard & Poor's predicted financial companies are nearing the end of the massive asset write-downs that have devastated the stock and credit markets".

Hmmm. So, how do S&P know this for a fact? Have they offered hard evidence to confirm their outlook? Or is it more a *hunch*?

Hmmmmmm.



AJ

 

[bigdog]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080314/wall_street.html

AP
Intensifying Credit Fears Swamp Stocks
Friday March 14, 1:51 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Wall Street Tumbles After Plan to Boost Bear Stearns Liquidity Worsens Credit Fears

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks tumbled Friday as a plan to alleviate a liquidity crisis at Bear Stearns Cos. touched off concerns about the severity of credit troubles. Each of the major indexes lost more than 1 percent; the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 225 points.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow fell 225.67, or 1.86 percent, to 11,920.07 after having fallen as much as 300 points.

 

[Aussiejeff]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080314/wall_street.html

AP
Intensifying Credit Fears Swamp Stocks
Friday March 14, 1:51 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Wall Street Tumbles After Plan to Boost Bear Stearns Liquidity Worsens Credit Fears

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks tumbled Friday as a plan to alleviate a liquidity crisis at Bear Stearns Cos. touched off concerns about the severity of credit troubles. Each of the major indexes lost more than 1 percent; the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 225 points.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow fell 225.67, or 1.86 percent, to 11,920.07 after having fallen as much as 300 points.

Must be lots more bailouts imminent if S&P reckon the end of the *crunch* is nigh.... thank god THEY know whats happening. Don't they??

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

The Dow fell 194.65, or 1.60 percent, to 11,951.09. The Dow had been down as much as 313 points.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week up 57.40, 0.48 percent, at 11,951.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 5.23, or 0.40 percent, at 1,288.14. The Nasdaq composite index ended the week unchanged at 2,212.49.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER by -194.65 points -1.60% on Friday March 14
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 11,951.09 -194.65 -1.60%
Nasdaq 2,212.49 -51.12 -2.26%
S&P 500 1,288.14 -27.34 -2.08%
30-yr Bond 4.35% -0.11

NYSE Volume 5,344,008,500
Nasdaq Volume 2,574,493,500

Overseas
Japan's Nikkei stock average finished down 1.54 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 1.07 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.75 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 0.82 percent.

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,631.70 -60.70 -1.07%
DAX 6,451.90 -48.66 -0.75%
CAC 40 4,592.15 -38.04 -0.82%


Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 12,241.60 -191.84 -1.54%
Hang Seng 22,237.11 -64.53 -0.29%
Straits Times 2,839.01 +33.46 +1.19%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080314/wall_street.html
Stocks Retreat on Credit Fears
Friday March 14, 6:33 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Wall Street Tumbles After Plan to Boost Bear Stearns Liquidity Worsens Credit Fears

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street plunged anew Friday after a near meltdown at Bear Stearns Cos. handed investors the unwelcome confirmation that the credit market's troubles are far from over. Word that the investment bank needed rescuing touched off a wave of selling that left each of the major indexes down more than 1.5 percent on the day; the Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 200 points.

The plan by the New York Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase & Co. offers Bear Stearns relief from a sudden liquidity crunch that analysts surmised could have felled the investment bank. But the company's position on the precipice of financial disaster left many investors shaken and spoiled some hopes that troubles in the moribund credit market are on the mend.

Stocks showed moderate increases in the early going after a Labor Department report showed the Consumer Price Index remained flat for February. Wall Street has been expecting inflation would show an increase. But the gains quickly disappeared after investors learned about the severity of troubles at Bear Stearns.

"This is another chapter in a book rather than a one-act play," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors. He said the market is worried that further trouble in the credit markets will emerge and that the ramifications of the credit strains and a slowing economy could result in recession.

"Investors thought they are probably more the norm than the exception and maybe this is the tip of the iceberg," he said, referring to Bear Stearns. "Our sense is that this is sort of an amoeba here and this is sort of a broadly spreading situation."

The Dow fell 194.65, or 1.60 percent, to 11,951.09. The Dow had been down as much as 313 points.

Broader stock indicators also declined but pulled off their lows. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 27.34, or 2.08 percent, to 1,288.14, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 51.12, or 2.26 percent, to 2,212.49.

For the week, the major indexes were mixed, with the Dow showing a modest gain, the Standard & Poor's 500 index slipping and the Nasdaq composite index finishing exactly where it began.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 16.81, or 2.47 percent, to 662.90.

Bond prices jumped as stocks retreated. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.44 percent in late trading from 3.53 percent late Thursday.

Comments from the Fed might have helped corral some of investors' nervousness Friday. The central bank said it voted unanimously to sign off on the arrangement between JPMorgan and Bear Stearns and that it is ready to provide resources to stave off further credit troubles. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke also said Friday he would do what was possible to aid struggling homeowners.

Still, investors remained nervous. The Chicago Board Options Exchange's volatility index, known as the VIX, and often referred to as the "fear index," jumped 14.2 percent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 5.18 billion shares compared with 4.94 billion shares traded Thursday.

"The Bear Stearns news reversed the early positive sentiment from the inflation data," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners. "There had been nervousness about Bear Stearns for some time and now the market's concerns about the company have been proven true."

Friday's pullback comes a day after an anxious stock market rebounded from an early plunge following a Standard & Poor's prediction that financial companies are nearing the end of the massive asset write-downs that have pummeled the stock and credit markets for months. The S&P projection had given investors some hope that the seemingly unrelenting losses from the mortgage and credit crisis could have been bottoming out.

Bear Stearns' woes rekindled investors' nervousness about the troubles in the financial sector. The company's shares skidded $27, or 47 percent, to $30, while JPMorgan fell $1.57, or 4.1 percent, to $36.54.

Other financial names declined as well. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. fell $6.73, or 15 percent, to $39.26 and Merrill Lynch & Co. slid $2.75, or 5.9 percent, to $43.51.

Stock market investors Friday were also eyeing the dwindling dollar and events in the soaring commodities market. Gold prices touched another fresh record Friday.

Light, sweet crude, which set a fresh record Thursday, fell 12 cents to $110.21 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil came close to its record of $111 set Thursday.

The market's fall Friday caps a big week for the markets. On Monday, stocks continued a sell-off from last week, falling more than 1 percent as oil again moved into record territory. Then, on Tuesday, stocks surged after the Fed said it would put up $200 billion to loosen tight credit markets. The Dow surged nearly 417 points, its biggest one-day percentage gain in five years. Stocks posted more modest losses and gains Wednesday and Thursday as investors speculated over how much help the Fed's plan would ultimately provide.

On top of Friday's concerns, Wall Street remains anxious for Tuesday's Fed meeting at which the central bank is still expected to lower interest rates. While Wall Street would welcome cheaper access to cash to help consumers and businesses, the freer flow of money would likely fan inflation concerns and could further weaken the dollar.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished down 1.54 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 1.07 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.75 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 0.82 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week up 57.40, 0.48 percent, at 11,951.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 5.23, or 0.40 percent, at 1,288.14. The Nasdaq composite index ended the week unchanged at 2,212.49.

The Russell 2000 index finished the week up 2.79, or 0.42 percent, at 662.90.

The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index -- a free-float weighted index that measures 5,000 U.S. based companies -- ended Friday at 12,992.93, down 59.24 points, or 0.45 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at 14,046.10.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com
Chart for Straits Times

 

[tigerboi]

good work big dog.here is the twiggs charts on the dow,i liked his analysis of the 2nd support test of 12750 & twiggs take on it was sub 12000 here we come,then onto 11250,things are going exactly the way he predicted,if i can find that chart i will post it..tb

 

[tigerboi]

good work big dog.here is the twiggs charts on the dow,i liked his analysis of the 2nd support test of 12750 & twiggs take on it was sub 12000 here we come,then onto 11250,things are going exactly the way he predicted,if i can find that chart i will post it..tb

heres what he said:This week's bull trap on the Dow is a typical example. The market reversed above the former support level of 12000 on news that the Fed would inject $200 billion of additional liquidity into the market. A further intra-day rally was sparked by S&P, who had failed to anticipate the sub-prime crisis, announcing that the worst is now over. Strong volume shows that market heavyweights took the opportunity to reduce their exposure, selling into the rally. Friday saw the trap snap shut, after the Fed stepped in to save Bear Stearns from a classic run on the investment bank (Globe & Mail).

A long candlestick tail on Friday signals the presence of buyers, but they are likely to be over-whelmed by further selling. Short-term support (at the January intra-day low of 11650) is not expected to hold.

 

[Aussiejeff]

After today's rout on the Aussie & Asian markets, the DJIA futures are currently sitting at -225 pts....

 

[eric341]

Dow is actually creeping up at a rapid pace at the moment!

It is now in positive territory....what is going on :S

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html


The Dow Jones industrials recovered from an initial drop of nearly 200 points to finish up about 21 points.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER by +21.16 points +0.18% on Monday March 17
Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 11,972.25 +21.16 +0.18%
Nasdaq 2,177.01 -35.48 -1.60%
S&P 500 1,276.60 -11.54 -0.90%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.3140% -0.1070

Overseas
Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 3.71 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 5.18 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 3.86 percent, Germany's DAX index dropped 4.18 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 3.51 percent.


Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,414.40 -217.30 -3.86%
DAX 6,182.30 -269.60 -4.18%
CAC 40 4,431.04 -161.11 -3.51%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 11,787.51 -454.09 -3.71%
Hang Seng 21,084.61 -1,152.50 -5.18%
Straits Times 2,792.75 -46.26 -1.63%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080317/wall_street.html
Stocks Mixed After Bear Stearns Deal
Monday March 17, 4:54 pm ET
By Madlen Read, AP Business Writer
Wall Street Is Mixed in Seesaw Trading As Markets Digest JPMorgan Chase Buyout of Bear Stearns

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street ended a temperamental session widely mixed Monday after investors grappled with JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s government-backed buyout of the stricken investment bank Bear Stearns Cos.

The Dow Jones industrials recovered from an initial drop of nearly 200 points to finish up about 21 points. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes ended lower as investors bailed out of investment banks and small-cap stocks and fled instead to large companies apt to be reliable during a weak economy.

"You move to the defensive names in times of market uncertainty -- safer, consumer names," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The buyout of Bear Stearns was certainly more appealing than the alternative: letting the investment bank collapse and causing huge losses for anyone linked to it. And some unprecedented moves by the Federal Reserve gave investors a bit of solace on what many predicted would be a day of precipitous losses in the stock market.

Besides supporting the buyout, the Fed lowered the rate it charges to loan directly to banks by a quarter-point on Sunday night -- two days before its scheduled meeting Tuesday. The central bank also set up a lending option for firms, including many non-bank financial services firms, to secure short-term loans for a broad range of collateral.

The Fed appears to be pledging to do everything in its power to keep the credit crisis from decimating the financial industry and the economy. Policy makers at the central bank are expected to reduce the target fed funds rate -- the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans -- by at least a half-point on Tuesday, and perhaps even a full point.

But the market remained extremely volatile. The sale of Bear Stearns -- at a minuscule $2.21 a share as of Monday's close, or a total of $260.5 million -- stirred fear among investors worldwide about other banks' exposure to the troubled credit markets.

"You're going to have some very weak players pushed out of business," said Joseph V. Battipaglia, chief investment officer at Ryan Beck & Co. He said JPMorgan's buy of Bear Stearns and Bank of America Corp.'s acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. are probably not the only rescues the industry will witness during this credit crisis.

The Dow rose 21.16, or 0.18 percent, at 11,972.25, after falling nearly 200 and rising more than 100. The blue chip index was supported partially by JPMorgan, by far the biggest gainer among the 30 component stocks. JPMorgan rose $3.77, or 10.3 percent, to $40.31.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 11.54, or 0.90 percent, to 1,276.60. The Nasdaq composite index, heavily populated by small and high-tech companies, fell 35.48, or 1.60 percent, to 2,177.01. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 12.42, or 1.87 percent, to 650.48.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 2.00 billion shares.

Bond prices rose as stocks fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.35 percent from 3.44 percent late Friday.

"The market has absolutely no idea what's going on," said Dan Alpert, managing director of Westwood Capital. "Some people have accused them of whistling past the graveyard -- I don't think they even know where the graveyard is."

He added that short-covering -- the unwinding of bets that stocks will fall -- ahead of Tuesday's Fed meeting contributed to the market's atypical movements.

The Dow got a lift as investors aimed for large-cap stocks such as AT&T Inc., up 76 cents at $35.79, Verizon, up 79 cents at $34.61, and pharmaceutical maker Johnson & Johnson, up $1.39 at $64.04.

But the pain for stockholders in Bear Stearns, which succumbed to losing bets on souring mortgages for borrowers with poor credit, will be sizable. JPMorgan is buying Bear, including its midtown Manhattan headquarters, for about 1 percent of the investment bank's worth little more than two weeks ago. Bear Stearns' buyout arrives after a short-term bailout Friday organized by the Fed and involving JPMorgan.

Bear Stearns shares fell 86 percent to $4.10 -- still above the buyout price, implying that some shareholders believe the deal terms might change.

Some investors worry Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. might be next to fall. Lehman -- the investment bank considered most similar to Bear Stearns -- and other major investment banks are slated this week to report quarterly results.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia's largest bank, reportedly instructed traders in an e-mail early Monday not to do business with the bank. According to Dow Jones Newswires, DBS Group later told traders to disregard the earlier e-mail. Lehman denied there were any problems with DBS.

Lehman fell $7.51, or 19 percent, to $31.75.

While investors focused on the financial sector, fresh economic news offered little solace. The Fed said output at the country's factories, mines and utilities fell by 0.5 percent in February, the biggest decline last October. Many analysts had been expecting a slight increase of one-tenth of one percent.

The Commerce Department also said Monday the current account deficit, the broadest measure of foreign trade, fell slightly in 2007 as stronger growth in U.S. exports offset a spiking foreign oil bill.

The dollar sank to a record low against the euro and hit a 12 1/2 year low against the Japanese yen, while gold prices rose to another record high. Crude oil plunged from record levels by $4.53 to settle at $105.68 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 3.71 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 5.18 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 3.86 percent, Germany's DAX index dropped 4.18 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 3.51 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

The Dow Jones industrial average soared 420 points, its biggest one-day point gain in more than five years.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER by +420.41 points +3.51% on Tuesday March 18

Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 12,392.66 +420.41 +3.51%
Nasdaq 2,268.26 +91.25 +4.19%
S&P 500 1,330.74 +54.14 +4.24%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.4510% +0.1370

Overseas
Stock markets overseas, which closed before the Fed decision, rebounded Tuesday from sharp drops a day earlier. Japan's Nikkei stock average bounced 1.50 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.4 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 3.12 percent, Germany's DAX index added 3.36 percent, and France's CAC-40 increased 3.18 percent.

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,605.80 +191.40 +3.54%
DAX 6,393.39 +211.09 +3.41%
CAC 40 4,582.59 +151.55 +3.42%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 11,964.16 +176.65 +1.50%
Hang Seng 21,384.61 +300.00 +1.42%
Straits Times 2,833.58 +40.83 +1.46%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080318/wall_street.html
Stocks Soar, Dow Rises 420 Points
Tuesday March 18, 5:01 pm ET
By Madlen Read, AP Business Writer
Wall Street Darts Higher After Three-Quarter-Point Rate Cut From Fed, Investment Bank Profits

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street stormed higher Tuesday as investors, optimistic following stronger-than-expected earnings from two big investment banks, were also galvanized by the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point. The Dow Jones industrial average soared 420 points, its biggest one-day point gain in more than five years.

Many investors were expecting the Fed to cut rates a full point, but appeared to overcome their early disappointment, especially since a 0.75 point cut is still substantial. The central bank's benchmark fed funds rate is now at 2.25 percent -- its lowest level since December 2004, and less than half what it was last summer. The Fed began lowering rates exactly six months ago, after the credit markets seized up due to soaring defaults in subprime mortgages.

In its statement accompanying the rate decision, the Fed said "recent information indicates that the outlook for economic activity has weakened further," but also that "uncertainty about the inflation outlook has increased."

"The Fed once again in the statement showed that it is ready for further action if this were needed," said Christian Menegatti, lead analyst for online economic research firm RGE Monitor. "It also showed the fact that it's still paying attention to inflation ... but that it is far from being the primary concern right now. And the market knows that, and it is happy."

Quarterly results from Lehman Brothers Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. early Tuesday gave great comfort to a market fearful about investment banks weakening further -- and hurting the rest of the economy -- due to losing bets on mortgage-backed securities. After Sunday's news that the stricken Bear Stearns Cos. was being bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co. at a bargain price of $2 a share, both Lehman and Goldman posted quarterly profits early Tuesday that were significantly lower than they were a year ago, but higher than analysts predicted.

"The overwhelming news this morning was the Lehman and Goldman Sachs earnings," said Jim Herrick, director of equity trading at Baird & Co. "The earnings this morning allayed investors' fears that there's going to be a hard collapse."

Still, while Wall Street's advance was heartening, investors were well aware that over the past six months, stocks have had many bursts higher, only to give them back at the first sign of credit market or economic trouble.

It will take some time before anyone knows whether the market is back on a true upward track, or is just staging another bear market rally. As market watchers will recall, the Dow jumped 416 points just last Wednesday after a $200 billion loan pledge from the Fed. A great deal of those gains evaporated late last week on worries about Bear Stearns.

After the Fed's decision was announced, the Dow first gave back half of its 300-point gain, then shot higher, closing up 420.41, or 3.51 percent, at 12,392.66. The Dow's point gain was the largest point jump for the Dow since a 447-point advance on July 29, 2002.

Broader stock indicators also finished sharply higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 54.14, or 4.24 percent, at 1,330.74, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 91.25, or 4.19 percent, to 2,268.26.

Bond prices were mixed after the Fed rate cut. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.45 percent from 3.30 percent late Friday.

It was a good sign that short-dated Treasury prices rose while long-dated bonds fell, said Michael Materasso, senior vice president at Franklin Templeton. "What you're seeing is an unwinding of this flight-to-quality that we saw last week," he said, adding that the Fed's cut and statement indicated that it is willing to act further, but "not panicking."

After its last scheduled meeting Jan. 30, the Fed reduced rates by a half-point, pointing to not only stressed financial markets, but also tightening credit for businesses and households; a deepening in the housing contraction; and softening in the labor markets. The central bank repeated these concerns in its statement Tuesday.

Data released Tuesday supported the notion that the economy is sliding while costs are rising. The Commerce Department said home construction fell in February: housing starts fell 0.6 percent, while building permits plummeted 7.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported a 0.3 percent rise in its Producer Price Index for February, in line with estimates, but the core PPI, which strips out food and energy prices, rose by a greater-than-expected 0.5 percent.

Although the market was clearly upbeat on Tuesday, many on Wall Street have been unsure recently that rate cuts will give the markets and the economy the lift they need; rate cuts usually spur growth, but they also drive down the dollar, which in turn lifts commodities prices. It's likely that the uncertainty will lead to some more pullbacks until investors have a sense that the economy is indeed recovering.

Wall Street certainly remains nervous about the effect of inflation on cash-strapped homeowners. Still, the Fed's language about inflation Tuesday could be oddly comforting to investors, who may be relieved that policymakers weren't so preoccupied with troubles in the credit market as to set aside inflationary concerns.

"They're saying, 'You're healthy enough for me to talk about inflation,' " said Swiss Re senior economist Arun Raha.

Following the Fed's move, the dollar regained ground against some major currencies, while gold prices fell and crude oil surged $3.74 to settle at $109.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 9 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.95 billion shares.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 31.45, or 4.83 percent, to 681.93.

Financial stocks were the biggest winners Tuesday. Lehman rose $14.74, or 46 percent, to $46.49; Goldman rose $24.57, or 16 percent, to $175.59; and Bear Stearns rose $1.10, or nearly 23 percent, to $5.91.

Stock markets overseas, which closed before the Fed decision, rebounded Tuesday from sharp drops a day earlier. Japan's Nikkei stock average bounced 1.50 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.4 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 3.12 percent, Germany's DAX index added 3.36 percent, and France's CAC-40 increased 3.18 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

Stocks pulled back sharply Wednesday, erasing most of the previous session's big gains as investors grew concerned about the possibility that banks remain vulnerable to further problems from soured debt. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 300 points after rising 420 on Tuesday.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER by -293.00 points -2.36% on Wednesday March 19

Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 12,099.66 -293.00 -2.36%
Nasdaq 2,209.96 -58.30 -2.57%
S&P 500 1,298.42 -32.32 -2.43%
30-yr Bond 4.2220% -0.1070

NYSE Volume 5,398,959,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,324,563,000

Overseas
Japan's Nikkei stock average increased 2.48 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 2.26 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 1.07 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.50 percent, and France's CAC-40 declined 0.58 percent.

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,545.60 -60.20 -1.07%
DAX 6,361.22 -32.17 -0.50%
CAC 40 4,555.95 -26.64 -0.58%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 12,260.44 +296.28 +2.48%
Hang Seng 21,866.94 +482.33 +2.26%
Straits Times 2,833.21 -0.37 -0.01%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080319/wall_street.html
Stocks Decline After Huge Rally
Wednesday March 19, 5:21 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Wall Street Pulls Back After Big Rally; Morgan Stanley Beats Estimates, Reassures Investors

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks pulled back sharply Wednesday, erasing most of the previous session's big gains as investors grew concerned about the possibility that banks remain vulnerable to further problems from soured debt. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 300 points after rising 420 on Tuesday.

Some retrenchment was to be expected after the previous day's huge advance. But the decline also reflects investors' continuing uneasiness about the world's financial system and the U.S. economy.

Talk swirled about whether further write-downs are in the offing after Merrill Lynch & Co. filed a lawsuit against a company involved in a debt transaction with the investment bank. Merrill claimed in the litigation that Security Capital Assuance Inc. owed it up to $3.1 billion after backing out of financial transactions.

News that the government plans to free up billions of dollars at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a move that could help struggling homeowners, for a time helped quell some of the market's fears. But it couldn't stave off selling late in the session by investors who have seen big advances evaporate many times during the course of the credit markets crisis and decided to preserve some of their gains.

Investors sent stocks charging higher Tuesday on stronger-than-expected investment bank results and several moves from the Federal Reserve in recent days, including a 0.75 percentage point rate cut aimed at jump-starting the credit markets. The Dow had its second 400-plus point gain in six sessions.

George Shipp, chief investment officer at Scott & Stringfellow, said some investors are still uneasy about the health of the markets. He said back-and-forth days will likely continue as Wall Street tries to feel its way forward.

"Nobody wants to make the first move. There is liquidity on the sidelines. It doesn't really know what to do right now," he said, adding that investors are trying to determine whether moves by the Fed and other regulators to stimulate the economy and stabilize the markets will take hold.

"Clearly there is fear. I would say the needle is pointing more toward fear than greed right now," he said.

The Dow fell 293.00, or 2.36 percent, to 12,099.66. Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 32.32, or 2.43 percent, to 1,298.42, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 58.30, or 2.57 percent, to 2,209.96.

Bond prices jumped as investors again looked for safety. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.34 percent from 3.50 percent late Tuesday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell sharply.

Light, sweet crude fell $4.94 to settle at $104.48 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after government figures suggested the high price of oil and gasoline are damping demand for petroleum products.

The concerns over the soundness of the financial system and the economy overshadowed upbeat results from Morgan Stanley, whose earnings indicated that the bank is relatively healthy like Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. Investors have been nervous in recent days about even big banks after JPMorgan Chase & Co. struck a deal Sunday to acquire Bear Stearns, which was on the verge of succumbing to credit troubles.

Morgan Stanley rose 59 cents Wednesday to $43.45. Lehman fell $4.26, or 9.2 percent, to $42.23, while Goldman declined $9.10, or 5.2 percent, to $166.49.

Investors' relief over Morgan Stanley follows better than expected earnings news from Lehman and Goldman on Tuesday that gave the Dow its biggest point gain in more than five years. The Dow got an extra boost after the Fed's rate cut.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which oversees government-backed Fannie and Freddie, said the changes should result in an immediate infusion of up to $200 billion into the market for mortgage-backed securities. This could mean greater demand for mortgages -- an aid for struggling homeowners hoping to refinance at more favorable terms.

Investors were upbeat about the moves at the mortgage companies. Fannie jumped $2.49, or 8.8 percent, to $30.71, while Freddie rose $3.88, or 15 percent, to $29.90.

The Fed has slashed key rates by more than half since last summer, when the mortgage crisis claimed its grip on the global credit markets. But the housing and lending industries are still hurting.

Jeff Lancaster, a principal at Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough in San Francisco, said investors are grappling with a host of fears that tend to routinely reassert themselves, condemning recent rallies to being short-lived.

"It just seems like there is the classic pendulum swing between fear and greed and the fear, for the most part, is predominant."

He said investors are at times worried "that at some level maybe we haven't seen anything yet" and that troubles with banks could spread to consumers who might want to curtail their spending because of further declines in home values.

At the same time, he sees some bursts of optimism.

"There is the sense that the Fed is riding to the rescue and is going to engineer a kind of soft landing."

Late Tuesday, Visa Inc. launched the largest initial public offering in U.S. history, selling 406 million shares at $44 apiece to raise $17.9 billion. The world's largest credit card processor is not a lender, and many investors are betting that it will easily survive the faltering U.S. economy and credit climate. The stock traded up $12.50, or 28 percent, at $56.50.

Declining issues outpaced advancers by more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.97 billion shares compared with 1.95 billion shares traded Tuesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 17.80, or 2.61 percent, to 664.13.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average increased 2.48 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 2.26 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 1.07 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.50 percent, and France's CAC-40 declined 0.58 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

Though the week was a shortened one for Wall Street, the volatility packed into four days made it feel much longer. Thursday's gains came a day after a steep drop that eroded most of a 420-point gain in the Dow on Tuesday -- the biggest in more than five years -- following the Fed's decision to lower its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage point to 2.25 percent.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER by +261.66 points +2.16% on Thursday March 20

Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 12,361.32 +261.66 +2.16%
Nasdaq 2,258.11 +48.15 +2.18%
S&P 500 1,329.51 +31.09 +2.39%
30-yr Bond 4.1650% -0.0570

NYSE Volume 6,317,300,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,802,103,000

Overseas
Stock markets overseas were mostly lower.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 3.5 percent, but the Shanghai Composite Index closed 1.1 percent higher after an early plunge. Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 0.91 percent, Germany's DAX index lost 0.65 percent, and France's CAC-40 0.49 percent.


Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,495.20 -50.40 -0.91%
DAX 6,319.99 -41.23 -0.65%
CAC 40 4,533.72 -22.23 -0.49%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 12,260.44 0.00 0.00% closed March 20!
Hang Seng 21,108.22 -758.72 -3.47%
Straits Times 2,824.91 -8.30 -0.29%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080320/wall_street.html
Stocks Cap Volatile Week With Big Gains
Thursday March 20, 5:31 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Stocks Rebound From Sharp Sell-Off; Philadelphia-Area Manufacturing Reading Boosts Confidence

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street capped a week of remarkable volatility with a big advance Thursday that left stocks higher for the week but didn't silence all of investors' concerns about the economy and the financial system.

Bargain-hunting and a milder-than-expected drop in a regional manufacturing report helped leaven stocks Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 260 points on the day, giving the blue chips a gain of more than 3 percent for the week. Broader indexes finished the week with gains of 2 percent to 3 percent. The markets are closed for Good Friday.

A week that opened with fearful questions over the soundness of the financial system following the near collapse of Bear Stearns Cos. ended on a more upbeat note, thanks in part to the Federal Reserve's efforts to inject both liquidity and calm into the markets.

The central bank not only again deployed its primary tool for stimulating economic activity -- an interest rate cut -- but also took several steps aimed at oiling the troubled credit markets, making it easier for banks to breathe. Policymakers said they would loan directly to investment banks and accept as collateral much of the now-shunned debt that is backed by mortgages. A spike in defaults on home loans has made many financial players hesitant to extend credit.

But while many investors praised the Fed's unusual steps -- including the deal it brokered for JPMorgan Chase & Co. to buy a liquidity-starved Bear Stearns for a fraction of its value only a week ago -- many on Wall Street still hung onto some misgivings about the banking system and the economy.

Economic readings Thursday exemplified the mixed signals investors are receiving. The Labor Department said the number of newly laid off workers filing for unemployment benefits rose last week by a more-than-anticipated 22,000 to 378,000. That level is the highest in nearly two months. Meanwhile, the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators fell, as expected, for the fifth straight month in February.

But Wall Street found reason to buy back into stocks when the Philadelphia Fed said manufacturing activity is dropping in March by less than it did in February, and by less than many economists anticipated.

And another day of sharp declines in commodities prices gave investors some hope that lower energy and food prices might boost consumers' discretionary spending and ease inflation concerns. Crude oil fell, while gold prices declined sharply.

Still, the markets are apt to stay volatile for some time, as investors digest news on the economy and the troubled financial sector.

"It's the every-other-day theory -- up one day, and down the next," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates.

The Dow on Thursday rose 261.66, or 2.16 percent, to 12,361.32.

Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 31.09, or 2.39 percent, to 1,329.51, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 48.15, or 2.18 percent, to 2,258.11.

Though the week was a shortened one for Wall Street, the volatility packed into four days made it feel much longer. Thursday's gains came a day after a steep drop that eroded most of a 420-point gain in the Dow on Tuesday -- the biggest in more than five years -- following the Fed's decision to lower its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage point to 2.25 percent.

Bond prices rose Thursday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.34 percent from 3.41 percent late Wednesday.

Light, sweet crude fell 70 cents to settle at $101.84 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold fell $33, or 3.5 percent, to $912.3 an ounce, while the dollar was mixed against other major currencies.

Todd Salamone, director of trading for Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, said investors appeared somewhat optimistic.

"There's some belief out there that the worst is behind us, but that's not necessarily written in stone," he said. "You're getting a strong bid in financials and housing stocks -- sectors that have been the cause for the jitters."

Shares in energy and metals companies were mixed Thursday. ConocoPhillips rose $1.22 to $74.83; Barrick Gold Corp. fell $3.25, or 7.2 percent, to $42; and Newmont Mining Corp. fell $2.75, or 5.6 percent, to $45.97.

Investors faced fresh concerns about tightness in the credit markets. CIT Group Inc. fell $2.01, or 17 percent, to $9.63 after the financial-services company said it is tapping into its $7.3 billion in credit lines to repay debt and finance its commercial lending business. The company says it cannot obtain financing from other sources.

Punk, Ziegel & Co. analyst Richard Bove wrote in a research note Thursday that the financial sector's worst problems were over.

Among financials, Morgan Stanley rose $6.22, or 14 percent, to $49.67, while Citigroup Inc. rose $2.09, or 10 percent, to $22.50.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 17.29, or 2.60 percent, to 681.42.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a heavy 2.77 billion shares compared with 1.97 billion shares traded Wednesday.

Stock markets overseas were mostly lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 3.5 percent, but the Shanghai Composite Index closed 1.1 percent higher after an early plunge. Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 0.91 percent, Germany's DAX index lost 0.65 percent, and France's CAC-40 0.49 percent.

Japan's markets were closed for a national holiday.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

 

[bigdog]

The NYSE will be trading tonight (Monday March 24)

http://www.nyse.com/about/newsevents/1176373643795.html

2008 US NYSE holidays
New Year's Day January 1

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day January 21

Washington's Birthday/Presidents' Day* February 18*

Good Friday March 21

Memorial Day May 26

Independence Day”  July 4” 

Labor Day September 1

Thanksgiving Day”  November 27” 

Christmas”  December 25” 

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

The NYSE DOW has risen 448.98 points since the ASX close on Thursday March 20
+261.66 points +2.16% on Thursday March 20
+187.32 points +1.52% on Monday March 24

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER by +187.32 points +1.52% on Monday March 24

Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 12,548.64 +187.32 +1.52%
Nasdaq 2,326.75 +68.64 +3.04%
S&P 500 1,349.88 +20.37 +1.53%
30-yr Bond 4.3120% +0.1470

NYSE Volume 4,442,743,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,317,015,750

Overseas
Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 0.02 percent. Markets in Europe and in Hong Kong were closed for Easter Monday.

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
Markets in Europe were closed for Easter Monday.

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 12,480.09 -2.48 -0.02%
Hang Seng 21,108.22 closed for Easter Monday
Straits Times 2,927.79 +102.88 +3.64%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080324/wall_street.html
Stocks Jump on Revised Bear Stearns Deal
Monday March 24, 5:27 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Stocks Jump As JPMorgan Ups Bid for Bear Stearns, Existing Home Sales Show Surprise Gain

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street extended its big advance Monday as investors applauded a new agreement that will give Bear Stearns Cos. shareholders five times the payout that was set in a JPMorgan Chase & Co. buyout deal a week ago. Investors were also pleased by a stronger-than-expected housing report, and sent the Dow Jones industrial average up nearly 190 points while also selling bonds sharply lower.

JPMorgan boosted investors' optimism by lifting its offer for Bear Stearns to $10 per share from $2. The revised plan is aimed at soothing Bear Stearns shareholders upset over JPMorgan's earlier offer, which was made at the behest of the Federal Reserve when Bear Stearns was near collapse.

Bear Stearns shares jumped $3.42, or 57 percent, to $9.38, while JPMorgan rose 58 cents to $46.55.

Beyond the troubles of the financials, Wall Street was examining the housing sector -- the root of much of investors' angst. A real estate trade group said sales of existing homes rose rather than declined in February, as had been expected.

The Fed's move and even the housing figures appeared to alleviate some of Wall Street's concerns about souring mortgage debt and lenders' resulting hesitance to grant loans of any sort. The latest Bear Stearns deal signals that investors' losses might not be as sizable as feared.

"The reason we've rallied the last three or four days is people are saying 'Hey, even if this paper is worth less than people think, the Fed is willing come in and buy it at some level,'" said Charlie Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

The Dow rose 187.32, or 1.52 percent, to 12,548.64, after rising more than 260 points on Thursday, the last day of trading before the Easter weekend.

Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 20.37, or 1.53 percent, to 1,349.88, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 68.64, or 3.04 percent, to 2,326.75.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 19.86, or 2.91 percent, to 701.28.

Monday's gains followed a volatile but ultimately strong week for the markets. The Dow and the S&P each showed gains of more than 3 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq advanced more than 2 percent.

Bond prices fell sharply as investors felt less of a need for the safety of government bonds, and also rushed to join the stock market rally. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, shot up to 3.53 percent from 3.34 percent late Thursday, a huge advance that reflected the shift in market sentiment. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude fell 98 cents to settle at $100.86 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The housing sector, which has offered a steady drumbeat of mostly negative news in recent months, gave investors a welcome lift. The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes rose by 2.9 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million units. It was the biggest increase in a year and Wall Street had expected a slight decline. Still, the median home price fell by the largest amount on record.

Smith said further readings on the housing sector, including a report on home prices due Tuesday, could help determine whether Wall Street's enthusiasm will continue or prove short-lived. Further weakness in housing, he said, could mean banks will continue to struggle with a locked-up credit market.

Still, the Fed's move to broker the Bear Stearns buyout has allowed investors the sense that not all the debt guaranteed by mortgages is "nuclear waste." It will be some time before Wall Street knows whether the write-downs on mortgages already taken will be sufficient.

"The fact that the Fed is willing to come in and buy it at some level makes people think 'OK, it's not zero,'" Smith said, referring to the troubled debt.

Denis Amato, chief investment officer at Ancora Advisors in Cleveland, is skeptical that Wall Street might have put its troubles behind it with the Bear Stearns deal. He said the Fed's extraordinary steps a week ago to lend aid to the struggling investment banks and accept as collateral much of the now-shunned debt was helping the market, but that investors will likely face further concerns.

"I just can't remember in my career having an instance where you know within a week what the watershed event was. Now we all know and that makes me a little bit nervous," he said of those conjecturing that the Bear Stearns deal marks the stock market's bottom.

"I'm not sure that the fundamental economics are still turned enough and that we went down enough in a lot of cases to have this be the real bottom. It may be the one of many bottoms."

Beyond the banks and housing, a report from Tiffany & Co. helped assuage some concerns about the health of high-end consumers. The jeweler said loans it made to a diamond company weighed on its fourth-quarter profit, but that earnings excluding items were in line with Wall Street's expectations. Tiffany jumped $4.05, or 10.5 percent, to $42.65.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 4 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.57 billion shares.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 0.02 percent. Markets in Europe and in Hong Kong were closed for Easter Monday.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

Wall Street Manages to Close Mostly Higher Even After Disappointing Consumer Confidence News

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER by -16.04 points -0.13% on Tuesday March 25

Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 12,532.60 -16.04 -0.13%
Nasdaq 2,341.05 +14.30 +0.61%
S&P 500 1,352.99 +3.11 +0.23%
30-yr Bond 4.2990% -0.0130

NYSE Volume 4,071,865,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,099,064,750

Overseas
Investors overseas remained upbeat following the U.S. rallies Monday and last week. Japan's Nikkei stock average finished up 2.12 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.91 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 3.24 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 3.49 percent.

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,689.10 +193.90 +3.53%
DAX 6,524.71 +204.72 +3.24%
CAC 40 4,692.00 +158.28 +3.49%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 12,745.22 0.00 +2.12%
Hang Seng 22,464.52 +1,356.30 +6.43%
Straits Times 3,000.19 +72.40 +2.47%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080325/wall_street.html
Stocks Pause After Big Two-Day Rally
Tuesday March 25, 4:51 pm ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer
Wall Street Manages to Close Mostly Higher Even After Disappointing Consumer Confidence News

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street paused after a huge two-session rally Tuesday but still managed to hold on to almost all its gains even after disappointing reports on consumer sentiment and the housing market.

Stocks pulled past profit-taking that was due in part to the Conference Board's report that consumer confidence sank to a five-year low in March. The index has been weakening since July, and is closely watched to determine the future of consumer spending, perhaps the most critical part of the economy.

Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index indicated that U.S. home prices fell 11.4 percent in January, the steepest drop since data was first collected in 1987. The latest decline means prices have been growing more slowly or dropping for 19 consecutive months.

Volume was light as many investors held off any big moves while the market sought a direction -- trading remained uneasy amid the ongoing uncertainty about the economy and credit markets. Still, the fact that the market didn't suffer a huge pullback, which has been its pattern for months after a big gain, indicated that at least for the time being, Wall Street seems more capable of handling bad news.

Stocks had charged higher in the days following the Federal Reserve's decision to aid investment banks and orchestrate a buyout deal for a near-collapsed Bear Stearns Cos. The Dow Jones industrials shot up nearly 450 points in the previous two sessions.

"There is a lot of cash on the sidelines right now, and they're really waiting to see if there's another shoe to drop," said Todd Leone, managing director of equity trading at Cowen & Co. "Bear Stearns has taken a lot of fear out of the market, and the Fed is doing what it can for the credit crunch, but I think there's still uncertainty."

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 16.04, or 0.13 percent, to 12,532.60.

The Dow was actually the laggard in Tuesday's session -- the broader Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes had more robust gains. The S&P rose 3.11, or 0.23 percent, to 1,352.99; the Nasdaq added 14.30, or 0.61 percent, to 2,341.05.

Advancing issues led decliners by 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.47 billion shares.

Bond prices rose, regaining ground after a huge decline on Monday that accompanied the rally on Wall Steeet. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.49 percent from late Monday's 3.55 percent.

The dollar was down against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Oil futures wobbled, with some investors selling on new worries about the economy and buying in response to the dollar's latest decline. Light, sweet crude rose 36 cents to settle at $101.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Though many on Wall Street expected the latest batch of economic data to be negative -- and that might have helped investors shake off the bad news -- there continues to be lingering concerns about consumer spending. The mood on Main Street is key as consumer spending makes up about 70 percent of economic activity.

Investors worry that consumers uneasy about the economy and their financial well-being are more likely to pare their spending. That was evident as the Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index plunged to 64.5 in March from a revised 76.4 in February.

The reading -- a five-year low -- was far below the 73.0 expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson/IFR.

"What is troubling is that consumer confidence took a plunge, and I think we're going to see consumer spending weaken as we go forward," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at New York-based brokerage house Avalon Partners.

Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index showed U.S. home prices declined 11.4 percent in January from a year earlier.

In corporate news, Monsanto Co. shares jumped almost 10 percent after the agricultural products company said earnings per share for the second quarter and for all of fiscal 2008 will be stronger than originally projected. Shares rose $10.29, or 9.9 percent, to $114.54, and also helped boost others in the sector.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. shares fell 49 cents to $46.06 after a securities analyst said the bank will end up paying about $65 per share for Bear Stearns. That amount, which includes costs to bring the two companies together, was labeled too high a price for a "deeply troubled company," the Punk, Ziegel & Co. analyst said.

Bear Stearns fell 31 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $10.94 -- above the $10 per share buyout price being offered by JPMorgan. There has been some speculation in the market that a higher offer might come before the deal closes.

Yahoo Inc. rose $1.21, or 4.4 percent, to $28.73 on speculation Microsoft Inc. will raise its takeover price for the Internet company beyond $31 per share. Microsoft fell 3 cents to $29.14.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.99, or 0.57 percent, to 705.27.

Investors overseas remained upbeat following the U.S. rallies Monday and last week. Japan's Nikkei stock average finished up 2.12 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.91 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 3.24 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 3.49 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER by -109.74 points -0.88% on Wednesday March 26

The Dow fell 109.74, or 0.88 percent, to 12,422.86, after sinking as many as 155 points during trading.

Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 12,422.86 -109.74 -0.88%
Nasdaq 2,324.36 -16.69 -0.71%
S&P 500 1,341.13 -11.86 -0.88%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.4940% +0.0020

Overseas
Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.30 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.50 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.54 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.33 percent.

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,660.40 -28.70 -0.50%
DAX 6,489.26 -35.45 -0.54%
CAC 40 4,676.68 -15.32 -0.33%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 12,706.63 -38.59 -0.30%
Hang Seng 22,617.01 +152.49 +0.68%
Straits Times 2,995.22 -4.97 -0.17%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080326/wall_street.html
Stocks Decline on Weak Economic Data
Wednesday March 26, 5:06 pm ET
By Madlen Read, AP Business Writer
Stocks Retreat on Weaker-Than-Expected Report Showing Drop in Orders of Big-Ticket Items

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street pulled back Wednesday after a drop in February's durable goods orders injected more pessimism about the economy into the stock market. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 110 points.

Investors who have been worried about the financial health of U.S. companies and individuals were disappointed to see a 1.7 percent dip in last month's orders of durable goods, or big-ticket items that range from refrigerators to cars to computers. The Commerce Department's durable goods report is indicative of business spending and consumer demand, so two straight months of declines were worrisome to Wall Street.

Meanwhile, investors found another reason to be cautious after the Commerce Department said sales of new homes slumped in February. The 1.8 percent decline was a bit narrower than economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR had anticipated, but it still dragged down sales for the fourth consecutive month to a 13-year low.

Considering that the Dow has added more than 425 points in the past three sessions, a pullback does not come as a surprise. But the question for Wall Street now is whether economic data later this week on jobless claims, gross domestic product and personal spending will further erode or rekindle the market's recent rally.

"I think the market has done a decent job of trying to find a bottom in the last few days, and that's certainly an encouraging sign," said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s RiverSource Investments. "But I don't think there is by any means a general re-emergence of confidence in this market."

The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates, loosened its lending practices and helped prevent a total collapse of Bear Stearns Cos. But the broader economy continues to struggle with tumbling home prices and rising commodity costs; crude oil, for one, surged back above $105 a barrel on Wednesday.

The Dow fell 109.74, or 0.88 percent, to 12,422.86, after sinking as many as 155 points during trading.

Broader stock indicators also retreated. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 11.86, or 0.88 percent, to 1,341.13, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 16.69, or 0.71 percent, to 2,324.36.

Government bond prices rose as stocks fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.49 percent from 3.51 percent late Tuesday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Oil prices soared after the Energy Department said the nation's inventory of crude oil, gasoline and distillate fuels was lower than expected last week. Light, sweet crude shot up $4.68 to finish at $105.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, back toward their record of nearly $112 a barrel.

Financial stocks fell after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the government should impose more regulation on the nation's investment banks. In a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Paulson said the Bush administration will soon release a plan to promote a smoother functioning of financial markets.

The financial sector also dragged on the market after Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Meredith Whitney lowered her first-quarter profit forecasts for the nation's top four commercial banks. Citigroup Inc., the nation's largest bank by assets, fell $1.37, or 5.9 percent, to $22.05.

Other banks in the Dow dropped as well. Bank of America Corp. fell $1.13, or 2.8 percent, to $39.84, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell $1.95, or 4.2 percent, to $44.11.

In a sign of how bank woes are affecting companies outside the financial industry, private equity firms leading a $19.5 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications Inc. were struggling to reach terms with the banks committed to financing the deal, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report said the deal was close to collapse.

Clear Channel fell $5.70, or nearly 17.5 percent, to $26.86.

Meanwhile, electronic parts manufacturer Jabil Circuit Inc. posted a fiscal second-quarter loss and warned its third-quarter results will fall short of Wall Street's expectations. The disappointing results caused shares to plunge $2.06, or 18.1 percent, to $9.32.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 3.16, or 0.45 percent, to 702.11.

Declining issues led advancers by 5 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.43 billion shares.

"Part of the reason we're down is the negative data on the heels of fresh optimism, and a combination of that typically leads to selling," said Todd Salamone, director of trading at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "There is also some window dressing going on with the quarter winding down, and we also have earnings reports coming in just a few weeks."

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.30 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.50 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.54 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.33 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER by -120.40 points -0.97% on Thursday March 27

For the second straight session, the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 100 points.

Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 12,302.46 -120.40 -0.97%
Nasdaq 2,280.83 -43.53 -1.87%
S&P 500 1,325.66 -15.47 -1.15%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.5340% +0.0400

Overseas
Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 0.80 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.01 percent, Germany's DAX index advanced 1.37 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.92 percent.

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,717.50 +57.10 +1.01%
DAX 6,578.06 +88.80 +1.37%
CAC 40 4,719.53 +42.85 +0.92%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 12,604.58 -102.05 -0.80%
Hang Seng 22,664.22 +47.21 +0.21%
Straits Times 3,344.53 +3,344.53 +1.00%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080327/wall_street.html
Stocks End Seesaw Session Lower
Thursday March 27, 5:17 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Stocks Fall After GDP Data Confirms Modest 4th-Quarter Growth; Oracle Hurts Tech Stocks

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street sank in volatile trading Thursday after the government confirmed that the last quarter of 2007 did indeed see a sharp economic slowdown. For the second straight session, the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 100 points.

The technology sector was particularly weak after business software maker Oracle Corp. posted worse-than-expected fiscal third-quarter sales and issued a cautious forecast. Meanwhile, data suggesting that Google Inc.'s revenue from Internet users' clicks could slow also raised worries about tech stocks.

Oracle fell $1.51, or 7.2 percent, to $19.43, and Google dropped $14.11, or 3.1 percent, to $444.08.

Financial stocks lost ground Thursday as well, with investors uncertain about what is in store for the economy and the troubled financial sector.

But the sense of panic that emanated from the near-collapse of Bear Stearns Cos. at the start of last week has lessened, observers say. The Federal Reserve on Thursday afternoon auctioned off $75 billion in credit to investment banks, whose demand was solid but not at the desperate levels some investors had feared.

"GDP was in line, so we're still expanding, even though we're expanding at a very small rate," said Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams. "It's definitely a different mind-set than it was two weeks ago. A lot of smart people are telling us to buy on the dips. I think we'll be fine as long as there is not another Bear Stearns out there."

The Dow fell 120.40, or 0.97 percent, to 12,302.46.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 15.37, or 1.15 percent, to 1,325.76, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 43.53, or 1.87 percent, to 2,280.83.

Declining issues outpaced advancers by about 5 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.43 billion shares.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 9.72, or 1.38 percent, to 692.39.

Bond prices also fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.55 percent from 3.46 percent late Wednesday. The dollar rose against other major currencies, while gold prices slipped.

Light, sweet crude rose $1.68 to $107.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as investors grew uneasy about Iraqi oil output after the bombing of key pipeline in that country.

While investors appear less cautious than they were after the Fed helped orchestrate the sale of the liquidity-starved Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase & Co., there have recently been fresh signs of strain in the economy.

Still, some upbeat news gave investors room for optimism. While it wasn't enough to propel stocks higher, investors appeared pleased by the Labor Department's report that the number of workers seeking unemployment benefits fell last week by a seasonally adjusted 9,000 to 366,000. Though the weekly figures can be volatile, the reading was better than the 371,000 many economists predicted.

Investors were kept busy digesting comments from a handful of Federal Reserve officials speaking Thursday. However, none of the remarks on subjects such as the likelihood of recession and the need to further regulate Wall Street appeared to have discernible effects on the market.

George Shipp, chief investment officer at Scott & Stringfellow, said investors generally remain uneasy about whether they have an accurate read on the scale of the troubles in the financial sector and to what degree the parade of write-downs on bad investments might continue.

"It's hard to imagine there is going to be any good news. The question is whether it's been discounted," he said, referring to another round of potentially weak results from big banks in the coming months. "The market is groping for a bottom. It's a difficult time."

Like the financial sector, homebuilders have caused much uncertainty among investors. But stocks in the sector advanced Thursday after a better-than-expected snapshot of the business. Lennar Corp. said it swung to a loss in the first quarter as it faced charges to write down asset values. However, the company's results stripping out certain items came in better than Wall Street had forecast and helped boost shares of homebuilders.

Lennar rose 31 cents to $17.90. Rival KB Home advanced 25 cents to $25.79, while DR Horton Inc. rose 33 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $15.53.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 0.80 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.01 percent, Germany's DAX index advanced 1.37 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.92 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week down 144.92, or 1.17 percent, at 12,216.40.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 14.29, or 1.07 percent, at 1,315.22.

The Nasdaq composite index ended the week up 3.07, or 0.14 percent, at 2,261.18.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER by -86.06 points -0.70% on Friday March 28

Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 12,216.40 -86.06 -0.70%
Nasdaq 2,261.18 -19.65 -0.86%
S&P 500 1,315.22 -10.44 -0.79%
30-yr Bond 4.34% -0.03

NYSE Volume 3,687,043,750
Nasdaq Volume 1,801,278,500

Overseas
Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.71 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.43 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.28 percent, and France's CAC-40 declined 0.50 percent.

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,692.90 -24.60 -0.43%
DAX 6,559.90 -18.16 -0.28%
CAC 40 4,695.92 -23.61 -0.50%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 12,820.47 +215.89 +1.71%
Hang Seng 23,285.95 +621.73 +2.74%
Straits Times 3,031.90 +6.70 +0.22%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080328/wall_street.html
Wall Street Closes Week Slightly Lower
Friday March 28, 6:16 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Stocks Dip As Personal Spending Shows Weakness but Meets Forecast; JC Penney Warns

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street finished the week with a decline Friday as the financial health of the consumer came into focus following a report that showed personal spending at its weakest growth in 17 months and a profit warning from J.C. Penney Co. The major indexes turned in a mixed performance for the week.

After weeks of concentrating on credit problems and interest rates, the market was forced to pay attention to the consumers who drive economic growth. The Commerce Department said consumer spending ticked up a paltry 0.1 percent last month, in line with Wall Street's expectations. But that news and the profit warning from J.C. Penney raised concerns about the well-being of consumers.

Investors felt some relief after the government said an important inflation gauge tied to consumer spending rose only 0.1 percent when excluding often-volatile energy and food costs. The reading -- the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation -- is up 2 percent over the past 12 months. With so-called core inflation back within the Fed's target of 1 percent to 2 percent, it could be easier for the central bank to justify further interest rate cuts without fear of adding too much money to the economy and driving up prices.

Trading was fairly muted following days of volatility that sent stocks sharply higher early in the week and then plunging near the end. Investors were able to set aside some concerns about the effects of the credit crisis on the financial sector, but that gave them more time to think about the economy.

"I'm viewing a day like today as sort of a continuation from where we were a month or two ago," said Les Satlow, portfolio manager at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Mass. "The U.S. recession concerns have resurfaced. They never went away but there was the beginning of the sense that this recession was going to be shallow and maybe a bit benign."

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 86.06, or 0.70 percent, to 12,216.40, suffering its third straight decline.

Broader stock indicators slipped. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 10.54, or 0.80 percent, to 1,315.22, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 19.65, or 0.86 percent, to 2,261.18.

For the week, the Dow fell 1.17 percent and the S&P 500 dropped 1.07 percent. The Nasdaq, which had a sharp rally in recent weeks and trended above the other major indexes, finished up 0.14 percent.

"This has almost been a week of pause," said Jack Caffrey, equities strategist at JPMorgan Private Bank, saying investors are witnessing a calm before the storm of first-quarter earnings in April. "The markets didn't move all that much. And more importantly, volumes were noticeably lower."

Friday's session was the next to last for what has been a dismal first quarter. Many investors are likely eager to close the books on the losses and start fresh on Tuesday.

Investors will have plenty of economic data to pore over next week as the market tries to determine if the country is indeed in the midst of a recession. Perhaps most watched will be Friday's Labor Department report on payrolls, which economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR predict fell by about 50,000 in March after a 63,000 drop in February. Economists also predict the unemployment rate will rise back up to 5 percent from February's 4.8 percent.

The market will also be monitoring the Institute for Supply Management's national manufacturing report on Tuesday. Economists expect a shallow contraction for March, similar to February.

Wall Street will also get a snapshot of the service sector with a second ISM report on Thursday. It is also expected to contract in March from February.

Falling stock valuations sent bond prices higher Friday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.45 percent from 3.52 percent late Thursday. The yield notched down to 3.44 percent in after-hours trading.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude fell $1.96 to settle at $105.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

With the near implosion of Bear Stearns Cos. behind the market, investors have been watching the usual set of indicators -- such as oil and other data -- to determine the economy's health. And, as Wall Street tries to determine the degree to which the economy is slowing, any news that consumers are less willing to reach into their wallets is unwelcome. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

J.C. Penney's warning gave investors a reason to be concerned. The retailer predicted a first-quarter profit of 50 cents per share, down from an earlier target of 75 cents to 80 cents. The stock fell $3.04, or 7.5 percent, to $37.48.

It dragged the rest of the retail sector lower. Kohl's Corp. fell $2.19, or 4.9 percent, to $42.33. Higher-end retailers lost ground as well. Macy's Inc. slid $1.39, or 5.9 percent, to $21.97, while Nordstrom Inc. declined $1.97, or 5.7 percent, to $32.62.

Declining issue led advancers by a 2 to 1 basis on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 3.59 billion shares compared to 3.90 billion on Thursday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 9.21, or 1.33 percent, to 683.18.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.71 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.43 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.28 percent, and France's CAC-40 declined 0.50 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week down 144.92, or 1.17 percent, at 12,216.40. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 14.29, or 1.07 percent, at 1,315.22. The Nasdaq composite index ended the week up 3.07, or 0.14 percent, at 2,261.18.

The Russell 2000 index finished the week up 1.76, or 0.26 percent, at 683.18.

The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index -- a free-float weighted index that measures 5,000 U.S. based companies -- ended Friday at 13,255.14, down 81.43 points, or 0.61 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at 14,365.45.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

It has been a difficult quarter on Wall Street, with financial companies' continuing credit market losses and the flagging economy wiping out investors' appetite for stocks. While the market has seen a number of up days during the quarter, overall the first-quarter trend was sharply lower.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER by +46.49 points +0.38% on Monday March 31

Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 12,262.89 +46.49 +0.38%
Nasdaq 2,279.10 +17.92 +0.79%
S&P 500 1,322.70 +7.48 +0.57%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.4320% -0.0340

Overseas
Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.30 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 closed up 0.16 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.28 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.24 percent.

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,702.10 +9.20 +0.16%
DAX 6,534.97 -24.93 -0.38%
CAC 40 4,707.07 +11.15 +0.24%

Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 12,525.54 -294.93 -2.30%
Hang Seng 22,849.20 -436.75 -1.88%
Straits Times 3,344.53 +3,344.53 -0.81%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080331/wall_street.html
Stocks Gain on Last Day of Quarter
Monday March 31, 4:46 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Stocks Rise to Finish Weak First Quarter; Chicago PMI Better Than Expected

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street closed a dismal first quarter with a moderate gain Monday, rising after a reading on regional manufacturing came in better than expected.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, considered a precursor to the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing survey on Tuesday, rose to 48.2 in March from 44.5 a month earlier. Economists had been expecting a reading of 47.3, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Though the reading topped forecasts, a figure below 50 nonetheless indicates a contraction in manufacturing activity.

The market's reaction, however, was likely not as enthusiastic as it might seem from gains by the major indexes. Volume was very light, which tends to skew price movements, and the final day of the quarter had some institutions buying more for show rather than on any conviction about the economy.

It has been a difficult quarter on Wall Street, with financial companies' continuing credit market losses and the flagging economy wiping out investors' appetite for stocks. While the market has seen a number of up days during the quarter, overall the first-quarter trend was sharply lower.

Investors also examined a government plan to overhaul the way Wall Street is regulated. Wall Street appeared unmoved by a speech from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on the plan to reorganize oversight of Wall Street; details of the 218-page plan have been widely reported in recent days. It would give the Federal Reserve increased power to protect the stability of the entire financial system while merging day-to-day supervision of banks into one agency, down from five under the existing system.

Scott Wren, senior equity strategist for A.G. Edwards & Sons, said Monday's trading showed investors were generally awaiting economic data due this week on the manufacturing and service sectors as well as employment. Investors are prepared for weak economic data, he said, but could become unnerved if there is unwelcome corporate news.

"The market is already pricing in a ton of bad economic news. Bad economic news is not going to drive the market. What's going to drive the market is headline news," he said.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 46.49, or 0.38 percent, to 12,262.89.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 7.48, or 0.57 percent, to 1,322.70, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 17.92, or 0.79 percent, to 2,279.10.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.58 billion shares compared with 1.35 billion shares traded Friday.

The dollar rose against several other major currencies, easing pressure on commodities such as oil and gold. Light, sweet crude fell $4.04 to settle at $101.58 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold fell $14.40 to finish at $916.20 an ounce on the Nymex.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.41 percent from 3.45 percent late Friday.

Merck & Co. fell $6.56, or 15 percent, to $37.95 and Schering-Plough Inc. declined $5.06, or 26 percent, to $15.41 after medical researchers said the companies' joint cholesterol drug, Vytorin, failed to improve heart disease. The researchers' findings, published by the New England Journal of Medicine, urged a return to more established treatments for cholesterol. Merck is one of the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow industrials and, as a result, dragged on the blue chips.

Citigroup Inc. rose 59 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $21.42 after announcing plans to split its consumer banking unit from its credit card business as part of a broader reorganization to cut costs and simplify the large financial institution's structure. The company suffered billions of dollars in losses from investments in poor-quality mortgages.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 4.79, or 0.70 percent, to 687.97.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.30 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 closed up 0.16 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.28 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.24 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

 

[bigdog]

NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com
Source: http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/index.html

The Dow Jones industrials surged nearly 400 points, and all the major indexes were up more than 3 percent.

Some of the biggest financial players had their sharpest moves of the year Tuesday -- Citigroup Inc. shot up 11 percent, JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 9 percent, and Lehman surged 18 percent.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER by +391.47 points +3.19% on Tuesday April 1

Sym Last........ ........Change..........
Dow 12,654.36 +391.47 +3.19%
Nasdaq 2,362.75 +83.65 +3.67%
S&P 500 1,370.18 +47.48 +3.59%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.5450% +0.1130

Overseas
Tokyo's Nikkei closed up 1.04 percent. There were gains in Europe too, with London's FTSE rising 2.64 percent, Frankfurt's DAX gaining 2.84 percent and Paris' CAC 40 advancing 3.38 percent.

Europe
Symbol... Last...... .....Change.......
FTSE 100 5,852.60 +150.50 +2.64%
DAX 6,720.33 +185.36 +2.84%
CAC 40 4,866.00 +158.93 +3.38%


Asia
Symbol..... Last...... .....Change.......
Nikkei 225 12,656.42 +130.88 +1.04%
Hang Seng 23,137.46 +288.26 +1.26%
Straits Times 3,344.53 +3,344.53 +1.30%

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080401/wall_street.html
Bank News, Economic Data Boosts Stocks
Tuesday April 1, 5:09 pm ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer
Wall Street Surges on UBS and Lehman Brothers Stock News, Better-Than-Expected Economic Data

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street began the second quarter with a big rally Tuesday as investors rushed back into stocks, optimistic that the worst of the credit crisis has passed and that the economy is faring better than expected. The Dow Jones industrials surged nearly 400 points, and all the major indexes were up more than 3 percent.

Financial stocks were among the big winners after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Switzerland's UBS AG issued new shares to help bolster their balance sheets. With that upbeat news and a fresh quarter ahead of them, investors appear quite willing to make some bets that the worst of the damage from the nation's credit struggles has been felt. Moreover, the banks' moves buttressed the view that financial services companies are taking aggressive action to improve their capital bases and stave off the potential of a collapse similar to Bear Stearns Cos.

Analysts believe there must be a recovery in bank and brokerages to lead major stock indexes higher. Some of the biggest financial players had their sharpest moves of the year Tuesday -- Citigroup Inc. shot up 11 percent, JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 9 percent, and Lehman surged 18 percent.

"Investors have a difficult time making decisions about the stock market if they don't have confidence in major financial institutions, so there's been a lot of sideline cash," said Richard Cripps, chief market strategist for Stifel Nicolaus. "The extreme conditions that we've seen here over the past few months has been missing that confidence ... but that appears to be changing, and we're seeing the response."

Meanwhile, Wall Street got another boost when the Institute for Supply Management said its March index of national manufacturing activity rose to a reading of 48.6 -- indicating a contraction, but a slower one than in February and tamer than many analysts had predicted. Government data on construction spending for February also came in better than expected.

The Dow rose 391.47, or 3.19 percent, to 12,654.47. It marked the eighth-biggest point gain ever for the Dow, and the third time in two weeks it came close to or surpassed 400 points.

Broader stock indicators also gained sharply. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 47.48, or 3.59 percent, to 1,370.18 -- the index's best start to a second quarter since 1938. And, the Nasdaq composite index rose 83.65, or 3.67 percent, to 2,362.75.

The advance was in contrast to a lackluster session on Monday, where stocks managed a moderate gain in the final session of a dismal first quarter. Major indexes ended the first three months of 2008 with massive losses, marking the worst period since the third quarter of 2002 when Wall Street was approaching the lowest point of a protracted bear market.

Renewed enthusiasm that the credit crisis might be waning was also felt in the Treasury market, where government securities fell as investors withdrew money to take bets on stocks. The 10-year Treasury note's yield, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.55 percent from 3.43 percent late Monday.

In addition to hopes about the financial sector, Wall Street was relieved to see the feeble dollar regain some strength against the euro. The euro fell to $1.5596 from $1.5785 late Monday in New York.

And there was also optimism that commodities prices, which have hit historic highs in recent months, have begun to retreat. Crude fell 60 cents to settle at $100.98 on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier falling below $100. Meanwhile, gold dropped back below $900 an ounce.

"This is a nice way to begin the second quarter," said Todd Leone, managing director of equity trading at Cowen & Co. "All the financials are up big, and there's a sense that things are turning. We definitely have not seen the last of the credit crisis, but we're getting closer."

The stock rally was underpinned by the announcements from UBS and Lehman Brothers that they are boosting capital by issuing new stock. Shares of banks and brokerages hovered near multiyear lows in recent months as investors feared heavy losses from investments tied to subprime mortgages would be overwhelming.

Earlier this month, widespread concerns about Bear Stearns' financial position forced the investment bank to sell itself to JPMorgan in a deal engineered by the Federal Reserve -- and that stoked fears that other investment houses might follow.

JPMorgan rose $4.05, or 9.4 percent, to $47; while Bear Stearns was up 36 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $10.85 -- slightly above the $10 per share acquisition price.

UBS, one of Europe's biggest banks, said it will issue up to $15 billion in new stock and that its chairman, Marcel Ospel, had quit. Investors chose to look past the bank's announcement that it will take a fresh $19 billion write-down due to additional declines in the value of its mortgage assets and other credit instruments, following an $18 billion write-down last year. Its shares surged $4.21, or 14.6 percent, to $33.01 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Lehman Brothers, dogged by speculation it might reveal losses big enough to cripple the company, on Tuesday raised $4 billion of capital to stymie questions about its financial stability. Lehman rose $6.70, or 17.8 percent, to $44.34.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 22.68, or 3.30 percent, to 710.65.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 4 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a heavy 1.85 billion shares.

In overseas trade, Tokyo's Nikkei closed up 1.04 percent. There were gains in Europe too, with London's FTSE rising 2.64 percent, Frankfurt's DAX gaining 2.84 percent and Paris' CAC 40 advancing 3.38 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com