NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Inflation is low, earnings are high, investors are happy.

Stocks shot higher Tuesday, giving the market its biggest gain in a month. Results at Mattel, Goldman Sachs, and Johnson & Johnson were all above expectations.

It was the second day of broad gains following a down week last week. Investors had been worried headed into the third-quarter earnings season that corporate profits wouldn't be good enough to justify the run-up in stocks in recent months. While earnings haven't been out-of-the-park great, they haven't been as bad as some had feared.

Also Tuesday, the Labor Department said consumer prices rose just 0.1 percent last month, not counting food and energy costs. And gasoline prices have come down since then. Low inflation leaves consumers with more money to spend, and leaves the Federal Reserve free to continue its efforts to boost the economy.

In addition, an index of homebuilder sentiment came in at its highest level since 2006, suggesting that the construction industry is making a comeback.

"The picture of the economy is one that's still proving to be resilient to a lot of the problems that investors are worried about," said Gary Thayer, chief macro strategist for Wells Fargo Advisors.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 127.55 points to close at 13,551.78, its biggest gain since Sept. 13.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14.79 points to 1,454.92, and the Nasdaq composite rose 36.99 to 3,101.17.

The gains were broad, with nine out of 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 index rising. Telecom stocks had a tiny decline. Materials stocks rose 2.4 percent.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER ▲ 127.55 points or ▲ 0.95% Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,551.78 ▲ 127.55 ▲ 0.95%
Nasdaq____ 3,101.17 ▲ 36.99 ▲ 1.21%
S&P_500__ 1,454.92 ▲ 14.79 ▲ 1.03%
30_Yr_Bond 2.915 ▲ 0.07 ▲ 2.53%

NYSE Volume 3,539,710,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,735,775,000

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,870.54 ▲ 64.93 ▲ 1.12%
DAX_____ 7,376.27 ▲ 115.02 ▲ 1.58%
CAC_40__ 3,500.94 ▲ 80.66 ▲ 2.36%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,513.90 ▲ 8.40 ▲ 0.19%
Shanghai_Comp 2,098.81 ▲ 0.11 ▲ 0.01%
Taiwan_Weight 7,471.02 ▲ 52.12 ▲ 0.70%
Nikkei_225____ 8,701.31 ▲ 123.38 ▲ 1.44%
Hang_Seng____ 21,207.07 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.28%
Strait_Times___ 3,046.81 ▲ 3.76 ▲ 0.12%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,940.70 ▲ 24.33 ▲ 0.62%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/earni...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Earnings propel Dow to its biggest jump in a month

Stocks snap higher on stronger earnings from Mattel, others; Dow's gain is biggest in a month

By Joshua Freed, AP Business Writer

Inflation is low, earnings are high, investors are happy.

Stocks shot higher Tuesday, giving the market its biggest gain in a month. Results at Mattel, Goldman Sachs, and Johnson & Johnson were all above expectations.

It was the second day of broad gains following a down week last week. Investors had been worried headed into the third-quarter earnings season that corporate profits wouldn't be good enough to justify the run-up in stocks in recent months. While earnings haven't been out-of-the-park great, they haven't been as bad as some had feared.

Also Tuesday, the Labor Department said consumer prices rose just 0.1 percent last month, not counting food and energy costs. And gasoline prices have come down since then. Low inflation leaves consumers with more money to spend, and leaves the Federal Reserve free to continue its efforts to boost the economy.

In addition, an index of homebuilder sentiment came in at its highest level since 2006, suggesting that the construction industry is making a comeback.

"The picture of the economy is one that's still proving to be resilient to a lot of the problems that investors are worried about," said Gary Thayer, chief macro strategist for Wells Fargo Advisors.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 127.55 points to close at 13,551.78, its biggest gain since Sept. 13.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14.79 points to 1,454.92, and the Nasdaq composite rose 36.99 to 3,101.17.

The gains were broad, with nine out of 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 index rising. Telecom stocks had a tiny decline. Materials stocks rose 2.4 percent.

Mattel jumped 5 percent after reporting that brisk sales of American Girl dolls and Fisher-Price toys sent the company's profit well above analysts' forecasts. The stock gained $1.78 to $37.20.

Johnson & Johnson rose 95 cents to $69.55 after revenues came in ahead of Wall Street's forecasts.

Among companies reporting after the closing bell, IBM fell in after-hours trading after its revenues came up short of Wall Street's forecasts. Intel fell after its earnings and revenue came in below forecasts.

Other stocks making big moves included:

Apple rose $15.03, or 2.4 percent, to $649.79 after the company sent out invitations for an event next Tuesday where it is expected to announce a smaller iPad.

Citigroup rose 59 cents $37.25 following the sudden departure of CEO Vikram Pandit, who had steered the bank through the 2008 financial crisis. Pandit, who is also stepping down from the company's board, is being replaced by longtime Citi executive Michael Corbat.

A123 Systems Inc., a maker of electric batteries for vehicles, put its U.S. operations into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said its automotive assets will be acquired by Johnson Controls for $125 million. A123's stock plunged 18 cents to 6 cents.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.72 percent from 1.67 percent late Monday.

European markets also rose. Benchmark indexes were up 1.6 percent in Germany, 2.4 percent in France and 1.1 percent in Britain.

The euro rose to almost $1.30 against the dollar from $1.29 the day before.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

A surprisingly strong housing report helped push the stock market mostly higher Wednesday, while weak earnings reports from Intel and IBM weighed on the Dow Jones industrial average.

Even though the two tech giants disappointed, overall earnings results have come in much better than some investors had feared, said Dan Veru, chief investment officer at Palisade Capital Management in Fort Lee, N.J.

"Everyone is breathing a sigh of relief that things aren't all that bad," Veru said. "That's what you see happening now."

The Dow edged up 5.22 points to close at 13,557, barely managing its fourth straight day of gains. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 5.99 points to 1,460.91.

Better results from Mattel, Goldman Sachs, and Johnson & Johnson shot the stock market higher Tuesday. For the week, the Dow is up 1.7 percent and the S&P 500 is up 2.3 percent.

Heading into this earnings season, FedEx, Caterpillar and other global heavyweights had warned investors that China's slowing economy and Europe's ongoing debt crisis would weigh on quarterly profits.

Analysts still expect that third-quarter earnings for companies in the S&P 500 will shrink for the first time since 2009.

IBM reported sales late Tuesday that missed Wall Street's expectations. On a call with analysts, IBM's chief financial officer said the company faced "more challenging" market conditions in September, the final month of the quarter, as cautious customers and a weakening euro undercut its results. IBM's stock sank $10.37 to $200.63.

Without IBM's drop, the Dow would have been 79 points higher. Stocks with higher prices carry more weight in the average of 30 large companies. Every move of $1 in any Dow stock is equivalent to moving the Dow average 7.68 points.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER ▲ 5.22 points or ▲ 0.04% Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,557.00 ▲ 5.22 ▲ 0.04%
Nasdaq____ 3,104.12 ▲ 2.95 ▲ 0.10%
S&P_500__ 1,460.91 ▲ 5.99 ▲ 0.41%
30_Yr_Bond 2.988 ▲ 0.07 ▲ 2.50%

NYSE Volume 3,633,108,750
Nasdaq Volume 1,770,906,750

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,910.91 ▲ 40.37 ▲ 0.69%
DAX_____ 7,394.55 ▲ 18.28 ▲ 0.25%
CAC_40__ 3,527.50 ▲ 26.56 ▲ 0.76%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,550.90 ▲ 37.00 ▲ 0.82%
Shanghai_Comp 2,105.62 ▲ 6.81 ▲ 0.32%
Taiwan_Weight 7,464.40 ▼ -6.62 ▼ -0.09%
Nikkei_225____ 8,806.55 ▲ 105.24 ▲ 1.21%
Hang_Seng____ 21,416.64 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.99%
Strait_Times___ 3,049.64 ▲ 2.83 ▲ 0.09%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,965.18 ▲ 24.48 ▲ 0.62%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Stock market edges up on stronger housing report

Housing report pushes most stocks higher; weak results from IBM and Intel cap the Dow's gains

By Matthew Craft, AP Business Writer

A surprisingly strong housing report helped push the stock market mostly higher Wednesday, while weak earnings reports from Intel and IBM weighed on the Dow Jones industrial average.

Even though the two tech giants disappointed, overall earnings results have come in much better than some investors had feared, said Dan Veru, chief investment officer at Palisade Capital Management in Fort Lee, N.J.

"Everyone is breathing a sigh of relief that things aren't all that bad," Veru said. "That's what you see happening now."

The Dow edged up 5.22 points to close at 13,557, barely managing its fourth straight day of gains. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 5.99 points to 1,460.91.

Better results from Mattel, Goldman Sachs, and Johnson & Johnson shot the stock market higher Tuesday. For the week, the Dow is up 1.7 percent and the S&P 500 is up 2.3 percent.

Heading into this earnings season, FedEx, Caterpillar and other global heavyweights had warned investors that China's slowing economy and Europe's ongoing debt crisis would weigh on quarterly profits.

Analysts still expect that third-quarter earnings for companies in the S&P 500 will shrink for the first time since 2009.

IBM reported sales late Tuesday that missed Wall Street's expectations. On a call with analysts, IBM's chief financial officer said the company faced "more challenging" market conditions in September, the final month of the quarter, as cautious customers and a weakening euro undercut its results. IBM's stock sank $10.37 to $200.63.

Without IBM's drop, the Dow would have been 79 points higher. Stocks with higher prices carry more weight in the average of 30 large companies. Every move of $1 in any Dow stock is equivalent to moving the Dow average 7.68 points.

Intel warned that sales of personal computers will likely remain weak during the holiday season this year. The chip-maker cut its revenue estimates for the year-end quarter when it reported results late Tuesday. Intel's stock fell 56 cents to $21.79.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that builders broke ground on building new single-family houses and apartments at the fastest pace since July 2008. Housing starts surged to an annual rate of 872,000 in September, far above estimates by economists.

"You might think it's a misprint," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG, in a note to clients. But over the past year, housing starts have climbed by 43 percent.

"If there was any doubt that the housing market was undergoing a recovery, even a modest one in the face of the terrible 2008 decline, those doubts should be erased by now," Greenhaus said.

In other trading, the Nasdaq composite index inched up 2.95 points to 3,104.12. More than two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

The housing report helped lift the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 1.81 percent from 1.72 percent late Tuesday. Better economic news usually sends traders out of safe assets like Treasurys, and when bond prices fall their yields rise.

The 10-year Treasury yield, a standard benchmark for mortgages and other loans, started October at 1.63 percent.

Among other companies making big moves Wednesday:

”” Dean Foods led all stocks in the S&P 500 with a 13 percent jump. The dairy company offered more details about its planned spin-off of a subsidiary, WhiteWave, the producer of Silk Soymilk. Dean Foods said it will keep at least 80 percent of WhiteWave after the company's initial public offering. The company's stock rose $1.92 to $16.96.

”” The University of Phoenix's parent company, the Apollo Group, plunged 22 percent, the biggest drop in the S&P 500. A sharp drop in student enrollment has cut into profits, Apollo reported late Tuesday. To cope with shrinking enrollment, Apollo plans to close 115 of the university's mostly smaller locations. Its stock lost $6.09 to $21.40.

”” Bank of New York Mellon surged $1.30 to $24.86 after reporting net income and revenue that topped analysts' estimates. The bank slashed expenses and collected more fees for managing investments. Investment income more than doubled from the year before.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Google plummeted almost $80 per share, more than 10 percent, and trading in the stock was halted two and a half hours Thursday after a disappointing earnings report was published ahead of schedule and surprised investors.

Bleak figures in the report about online advertising dragged down Facebook stock, too, and the Nasdaq composite index skidded 1 percent on a day when the broader stock market was mostly flat.

Google was trading at $754 per share at 12:30 p.m. EDT, then fell almost $20 in a minute after investors saw the report, a draft. It dropped as low as $676, and Google halted trading at 12:50 p.m., with the stock at $687.

The stock was halted until 3:20 p.m. Companies routinely halt trading when they have news to release to investors during the market day, but two and a half hours is an unusually long suspension.

When trading in Google resumed, the stock climbed slightly, but it still finished down $60.49, or 8 percent, at $695.

Google blamed a printing company, R.R. Donnelley & Sons, for filing its quarterly statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission more than three hours ahead of schedule.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons stock also plunged ”” as much as 71 cents, or 6.5 percent, to $10.14 ”” after the mistake. It later recovered most of the loss and ended the day down 9 cents.

The Google report said it earned $2.18 billion from July through September, down from $2.73 billion in the same period a year ago.

Profit came to $6.53 per share, and would have been $9.03 if not for accounting costs from employee stock compensation and restructuring charges related to Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a cellphone maker.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER ▼ -8.06 points or ▼ -0.06% Thursday, 18 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,548.94 ▼ -8.06 ▼ -0.06%
Nasdaq____ 3,072.87 ▼ -31.25 ▼ -1.01%
S&P_500__ 1,457.34 ▼ -3.57 ▼ -0.24%
30_Yr_Bond 3.007 ▲ 0.02 ▲ 0.64%

NYSE Volume 3,833,860,750
Nasdaq Volume 2,043,600,880

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,917.05 ▲ 6.14 ▲ 0.10%
DAX_____ 7,437.23 ▲ 42.68 ▲ 0.58%
CAC_40__ 3,535.18 ▲ 7.68 ▲ 0.22%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,580.90 ▲ 30.00 ▲ 0.66%
Shanghai_Comp 2,131.69 ▲ 26.07 ▲ 1.24%
Taiwan_Weight 7,465.41 ▲ 1.01 ▲ 0.01%
Nikkei_225____ 8,982.86 ▲ 176.31 ▲ 2.00%
Hang_Seng____ 21,518.71 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.48%
Strait_Times___ 3,060.36 ▲ 14.69 ▲ 0.48%
NZX_50_Index__ 4,001.95 ▲ 36.77 ▲ 0.93%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/googl...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Google issues a bad report early, hurting Nasdaq

Nasdaq falls after Google releases a bad report early; broader stock market flat

By Matthew Craft, AP Business Writer

Google plummeted almost $80 per share, more than 10 percent, and trading in the stock was halted two and a half hours Thursday after a disappointing earnings report was published ahead of schedule and surprised investors.

Bleak figures in the report about online advertising dragged down Facebook stock, too, and the Nasdaq composite index skidded 1 percent on a day when the broader stock market was mostly flat.

Google was trading at $754 per share at 12:30 p.m. EDT, then fell almost $20 in a minute after investors saw the report, a draft. It dropped as low as $676, and Google halted trading at 12:50 p.m., with the stock at $687.

The stock was halted until 3:20 p.m. Companies routinely halt trading when they have news to release to investors during the market day, but two and a half hours is an unusually long suspension.

When trading in Google resumed, the stock climbed slightly, but it still finished down $60.49, or 8 percent, at $695.

Google blamed a printing company, R.R. Donnelley & Sons, for filing its quarterly statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission more than three hours ahead of schedule.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons stock also plunged ”” as much as 71 cents, or 6.5 percent, to $10.14 ”” after the mistake. It later recovered most of the loss and ended the day down 9 cents.

The Google report said it earned $2.18 billion from July through September, down from $2.73 billion in the same period a year ago.

Profit came to $6.53 per share, and would have been $9.03 if not for accounting costs from employee stock compensation and restructuring charges related to Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a cellphone maker.

Still, analysts polled by FactSet, a provider of financial data, were expecting $10.63 per share.

Besides disappointing investors, the report was an embarrassment for Google. Near the top of the draft, the report said, "PENDING LARRY QUOTE," apparently a place to insert a quote from Larry Page, one of Google's founders.

The earnings report said that Google made about 15 percent less than a year earlier each time a user clicks on an online ad. That is the fourth straight quarter of erosion in Google's ad prices.

It is a warning sign for Facebook, which is trying to figure out how to make money off advertising on mobile devices.

Facebook stock declined 90 cents, or 4.6 percent, at $18.98, with most of the loss coming after Google's earnings report. The company went public in May at $38, but it has fallen as low as $17.55, in part because of investor concerns about ads.

"Google and Facebook are very reliant on online ads," said Scott Kessler, head of technology sector equity research at S&P Capital IQ, a research firm. "So if Google's results indicate a lack of demand and growth, that's obviously a worry for Facebook."

Google is the third-largest component in the Nasdaq composite, behind Apple and Microsoft. The Nasdaq finished down 31.25 points at 3,072.87.

The broader market fared better: The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 8.06 points, or 0.06 percent, at 13,549.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.57 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,457.34.

The broader market is "waiting for a clear catalyst," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. What investors most want, she said, is a sense of direction about earnings and the economy.

"We basically know what happened in the last quarter," Krosby said. "What we're looking for is what's next: Are we turning a corner? Will demand pick up at the end of the year?"

Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to say that overall earnings shrank in the third quarter compared with a year ago, according to S&P Capital IQ. That would be the first drop in exactly three years.

American Express reported quarterly revenue late Wednesday that fell short of Wall Street's expectations even though earnings were in line. Amex said card holders' rate of spending has slowed in recent months. Its stock lost $1.76 to $57.61.

Strong profits for the insurer Travelers sent its stock up 3.6 percent. The company said claims from catastrophes plunged compared to the same quarter last year, which helped earnings double. Travelers' stock gained $2.56 to $73.94.

BB&T bank, Philip Morris International and Boston Scientific all fell after reporting results that fell short of forecasts. Microsoft fell in after-hours trading after reporting its earnings.

Weekly applications for unemployment benefits surged to a four-month high, a sharp rise from the previous week. The Labor Department pointed to technical reasons behind the swing, mainly delayed figures from one large state, California.

Better earnings from Johnson & Johnson and other companies, along with encouraging reports on industrial production and the housing market, have pushed the stock market higher this week. The Dow is up 1.6 percent and the S&P 500 is up 2 percent.

In other trading Thursday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 1.83 percent, up from 1.82 percent Wednesday. The euro lost 0.4 cent against the dollar to $1.307. Crude oil fell 2 cents to $92.10 per barrel.

Among other stocks making big moves:

”” EBay jumped $2.63, or 5.4 percent, to $50.83 after posting better net income and more revenue from its PayPal payments service and its online markets. The company also raised its full-year estimates for earnings and sales.

”” Verizon Communications surged $1.06, or 2.4 percent, to $45.78. The company said its wireless division signed up more customers in the quarter. Verizon said its customers also added more devices to its Share Everything plan.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Dow falls 205 as weak earnings drag stock market lower; GE, Microsoft, McDonald's disappoint

Poor corporate earnings reports pounded the stock market Friday in a sour end to an otherwise strong week of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points for its worst day in four months.

Disappointing results from three giants of the Dow ”” Microsoft, General Electric and McDonald's ”” were to blame. But the broader market fell, too, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index fared even worse in percentage terms.

The Dow sank 205.43 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 13,343.51. The S&P lost 24.15, or 1.7 percent, to 1,433.19. The Nasdaq composite index, hammered by a second ugly day for Google, lost 67.25 points to 3,005.62, a 2.2 percent decline.

The big drops Friday left the Dow and S&P clinging to gains for the week.

Financial analysts expect corporate earnings for July through September to be lower than the same period a year ago, which would be the first yearly decline in three years.

Through Thursday, with 115 companies in the S&P 500 reporting, earnings were down 3.7 percent compared with a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters, a financial data provider, and ING, a financial company.

"And once you get one quarter of negative earnings, it's a precursor," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management in New York. "It's the cockroach theory: If you find one, there's probably many more."

All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 fell, led by technology and materials stocks. For a time Home Depot and Bank of America were the only stocks in the Dow trading higher for the day, but by 3 p.m. they were lower, too.

Google continued its slump, losing $13.21 to $681.79, a day after its earnings report was accidently hours ahead of schedule. The report raised questions for Google and other Internet companies about ads that target mobile devices.

It's been a tough week for technology companies. IBM pointed to Europe's troubles and slowing business spending when it posted weaker revenue than analysts expected. Intel, the world's largest maker of computer chips, blamed the global economy and sliding computer sales for pushing net income down.

The bad news piled up Friday. Sagging PC sales and trouble in Europe took a toll on Microsoft's net income. Its stock lost 86 cents, or 3 percent, to $28.64. Marvell Technology Group and Advanced Micro Devices, which also make chips, sank sharply.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER ▼ -205.43 points or ▼ -1.52% Friday, 19 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,343.51 ▼ -205.43 ▼ -1.52%
Nasdaq____ 3,005.62 ▼ -67.25 ▼ -2.19%
S&P_500__ 1,433.19 ▼ -24.15 ▼ -1.66%
30_Yr_Bond 2.937 ▼ -0.07 ▼ -2.33%

NYSE Volume 3,851,327,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,225,780,250

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,896.15 ▼ -20.90 ▼ -0.35%
DAX_____ 7,380.64 ▼ -56.59 ▼ -0.76%
CAC_40__ 3,504.56 ▼ -30.62 ▼ -0.87%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,593.50 ▲ 12.60 ▲ 0.28%
Shanghai_Comp 2,128.30 ▼ -3.39 ▼ -0.16%
Taiwan_Weight 7,408.76 ▼ -56.65 ▼ -0.76%
Nikkei_225____ 9,002.68 ▲ 19.82 ▲ 0.22%
Hang_Seng____ 21,551.76 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.15%
Strait_Times___ 3,048.92 ▼ -11.44 ▼ -0.37%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,988.16 ▼ -13.79 ▼ -0.34%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dow-down-205-weak-earnings-200703231.html

Dow down 205 as weak earnings drag market lower

Dow falls 205 as weak earnings drag stock market lower; GE, Microsoft, McDonald's disappoint

By Matthew Craft, AP Business Writer

Poor corporate earnings reports pounded the stock market Friday in a sour end to an otherwise strong week of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points for its worst day in four months.

Disappointing results from three giants of the Dow ”” Microsoft, General Electric and McDonald's ”” were to blame. But the broader market fell, too, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index fared even worse in percentage terms.

The Dow sank 205.43 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 13,343.51. The S&P lost 24.15, or 1.7 percent, to 1,433.19. The Nasdaq composite index, hammered by a second ugly day for Google, lost 67.25 points to 3,005.62, a 2.2 percent decline.

The big drops Friday left the Dow and S&P clinging to gains for the week.

Financial analysts expect corporate earnings for July through September to be lower than the same period a year ago, which would be the first yearly decline in three years.

Through Thursday, with 115 companies in the S&P 500 reporting, earnings were down 3.7 percent compared with a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters, a financial data provider, and ING, a financial company.

"And once you get one quarter of negative earnings, it's a precursor," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management in New York. "It's the cockroach theory: If you find one, there's probably many more."

All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 fell, led by technology and materials stocks. For a time Home Depot and Bank of America were the only stocks in the Dow trading higher for the day, but by 3 p.m. they were lower, too.

Google continued its slump, losing $13.21 to $681.79, a day after its earnings report was accidently hours ahead of schedule. The report raised questions for Google and other Internet companies about ads that target mobile devices.

It's been a tough week for technology companies. IBM pointed to Europe's troubles and slowing business spending when it posted weaker revenue than analysts expected. Intel, the world's largest maker of computer chips, blamed the global economy and sliding computer sales for pushing net income down.

The bad news piled up Friday. Sagging PC sales and trouble in Europe took a toll on Microsoft's net income. Its stock lost 86 cents, or 3 percent, to $28.64. Marvell Technology Group and Advanced Micro Devices, which also make chips, sank sharply.

McDonald's profit shrank as a strong dollar hurt international results, which account for two-thirds of its business. The fast-food giant's stock lost $4.14, more than 4 percent, to $88.72.

General Electric, a bellwether of the economy, fell 3 percent. The company reported stronger profits early Friday, but its revenue missed Wall Street's expectations.

Orders for new equipment and services sank, mainly because wind turbine orders have fallen because a key U.S. federal subsidy for wind power expires at the end of the year. GE's stock lost 78 cents to $22.03.

As corporate earnings roll in, banks and so-called consumer discretionary companies, which include luxury stores and hotels, are projected to report the best growth.

Analysts expect companies dealing in metals and other materials to report the worst results, followed by energy companies. But it's technology companies like IBM, Intel and Google whose results have grabbed the most attention.

The losses left the Dow up just 0.1 percent for the week. The S&P was up 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq was down 1.3 percent.

As investors sold stocks, they bought U.S. government bonds, driving prices up and yields down. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped to 1.77 percent from 1.83 percent late Thursday.

The disappointing earnings and a report showing a drop in home sales last month also pushed energy prices lower. The price of oil fell 2.2 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Benchmark crude lost $2.05 to end at $90.05 per barrel.

Among other stocks making big moves:

”” Chipotle Mexican Grill plunged 15 percent after the burrito chain forecast that revenue growth would slow sharply next year. The stock had been a favorite among investors thanks to super-fast growth in recent years. The stock fell $42.93 to $243.

”” Capital One Financial surged 6 percent, making it the top performer in the S&P 500. Capital One's quarterly results, reported late Thursday, easily trumped analysts' estimates as profits jumped 47 percent. The lender's purchase of both the online bank ING Direct and HSBC's U.S. credit-card division helped propel loan revenue. Capital One's stock gained $3.45 to $60.75.

”” Advanced Micro Devices, the world's second-largest maker of microprocessors behind Intel, plunged 17 percent. AMD said late Thursday that sales of its chips have dwindled as buyers shift away from personal computers in favor of tablets and smartphones. It also plans to cut 15 percent of its workforce. AMD lost 44 cents to $2.18.

3225

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

The stock market is waiting for the presidential election as much as anyone.

The U.S. stock market struggled for direction Monday. All three major indexes waffled between gains and losses before closing slightly higher. Investors were underwhelmed by earnings reports from toymaker Hasbro, clothing maker VF Corp., regional bank SunTrust and other companies.

The overhang of the presidential election in two weeks didn't help. Investors are wary of making big moves before they know who's going to be the next president.

"They need to know the playing field before they get out there and play," said Jeff Savage, regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank in Portland, Oregon.

David Katz, principal and senior portfolio strategist at WeiserMazars Wealth Advisors in New York, said it matters more that the election is wrapped up than who is elected.

"One could say the markets will rally stronger if the Republican candidate becomes president," Katz said. "But one way or another, the markets will have direction, and the markets like direction."

The Dow Jones industrial average ended virtually flat. It inched up 2.38 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 13,345.89. A late rise erased a 108-point deficit in the Dow.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was also little changed, edging up 0.62 point to 1,433.81. The Nasdaq composite index rose 11.34 to 3,016.96.

Besides the election, an economic report due Friday also has the markets in a holding pattern. That's when the government is supposed to report how much the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter. But already, company reports are signaling that consumers, who drive the bulk of economic growth, are far from healed.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER ▲ 2.38 points or ▲ 0.02% Monday, 22 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,345.89 ▲ 2.38 ▲ 0.02%
Nasdaq____ 3,016.96 ▲ 11.34 ▲ 0.38%
S&P_500__ 1,433.82 ▲ 0.63 ▲ 0.04%
30_Yr_Bond 2.947 ▲ 0.01 ▲ 0.34%

NYSE Volume 3,189,096,500
Nasdaq Volume 1,654,094,880

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,882.91 ▼ -13.24 ▼ -0.22%
DAX_____ 7,328.05 ▼ -52.59 ▼ -0.71%
CAC_40__ 3,483.25 ▼ -21.31 ▼ -0.61%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,564.60 ▼ -28.90 ▼ -0.63%
Shanghai_Comp 2,132.76 ▲ 4.46 ▲ 0.21%
Taiwan_Weight 7,373.04 ▼ -35.72 ▼ -0.48%
Nikkei_225____ 9,010.71 ▲ 8.03 ▲ 0.09%
Hang_Seng____ 21,697.55 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.68%
Strait_Times___ 3,045.67 ▼ -3.25 ▼ -0.11%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,988.16 ▼ -13.79 ▼ -0.34%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/marke...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Market waits for election; earnings disappoint

Earnings from toys, clothes and banks fail to impress; investors wait for election clarity

By Christina Rexrode, AP Business Writer

The stock market is waiting for the presidential election as much as anyone.

The U.S. stock market struggled for direction Monday. All three major indexes waffled between gains and losses before closing slightly higher. Investors were underwhelmed by earnings reports from toymaker Hasbro, clothing maker VF Corp., regional bank SunTrust and other companies.

The overhang of the presidential election in two weeks didn't help. Investors are wary of making big moves before they know who's going to be the next president.

"They need to know the playing field before they get out there and play," said Jeff Savage, regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank in Portland, Oregon.

David Katz, principal and senior portfolio strategist at WeiserMazars Wealth Advisors in New York, said it matters more that the election is wrapped up than who is elected.

"One could say the markets will rally stronger if the Republican candidate becomes president," Katz said. "But one way or another, the markets will have direction, and the markets like direction."

The Dow Jones industrial average ended virtually flat. It inched up 2.38 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 13,345.89. A late rise erased a 108-point deficit in the Dow.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was also little changed, edging up 0.62 point to 1,433.81. The Nasdaq composite index rose 11.34 to 3,016.96.

Besides the election, an economic report due Friday also has the markets in a holding pattern. That's when the government is supposed to report how much the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter. But already, company reports are signaling that consumers, who drive the bulk of economic growth, are far from healed.

Hasbro, the toymaker behind brands like My Little Pony and Transformers, said that sales for boys' products and preschool toys weakened. The stock slipped 66 cents to $38.39.

Clothing maker VF Corp., whose brands include Timberland and Wrangler, missed analysts' revenue estimates. The stock slid $7.31, hitting $159.46.

SunTrust Banks also slipped. Its third-quarter earnings jumped, but that was largely because the bank sold shares it owned in Coca-Cola. The Atlanta-based bank wrestled with higher expenses as well as low interest rates, which can crimp the profit banks make from lending out money. The stock lost 96 cents to $27.67.

Shares rose for Caterpillar, the world's largest construction and mining equipment company, gained $1.22 to $85.08. But the company warned that it expects lower profit and revenue for the rest of the year.

Last week, Microsoft, General Electric and McDonald's also reported third-quarter results that disappointed the market.

To be fair, most companies are reporting better-than-expected profits. But investors want to know how companies are faring on revenue. Revenue can give a more accurate picture of how a company is performing, because profits can vary widely on items like accounting charges and cost-cutting.

Katz described companies' third-quarter revenue results as "fair" and said the U.S. economy is "slow and steady."

"It is at a snail's pace," he said. "But it's certainly better than what we had."

Of the roughly 100 companies in the S&P 500 that had reported third-quarter results as of last week, 70 percent have beat analysts' estimates for profits, according to John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet. But only 42 percent have beat estimates for revenue. That's the lowest since the first quarter of 2009, when the stock market hit its Great Recession lows.

Company profits so far this quarter are down 2.3 percent compared to a year ago. Revenue is down an average of 0.6 percent.

One stock that jumped was Ancestry.com, the genealogy website, which announced it will be bought by European private equity firms. The stock popped $2.26 to $31.44. The buyers had offered $32 per share.

Apple also jumped, rising $24.19 to $634.03. The company is expected to release a new, smaller iPad on Tuesday, to compete with Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire and Google Inc.'s Nexus 7.

In other trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.81 percent from 1.76 percent late Friday. The euro was worth $1.3045, up slightly from Friday. Energy prices fell. Crude oil lost $1.32 to $88.73 a barrel.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Nobody was expecting this round of corporate earnings reports to be great. But companies' underwhelming results are still rattling investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged Tuesday to its lowest level in nearly seven weeks. Big-name companies reported weak quarterly revenue and lowered their forecasts for the rest of the year.

The Dow sank as much as 262 points, or roughly 2 percent, before ending the day down 243.36 points to 13,102.53. The decline was the Dow's third-steepest this year.

Other indexes also fell sharply. The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 20.71 points to 1,413.11, and the Nasdaq composite index lost 26.50 points to 2,990.46. The Nasdaq hadn't closed below 3,000 since Aug. 6.

On the New York Stock Exchange, for every stock that rose, roughly three fell.

Companies of all stripes signaled that the economy is far from healed, and that demand is weaker than a year ago. Revenue fell compared with a year ago at DuPont, 3M, UPS and Xerox.

Because of their global footprints and variety of products and services, those companies augur how the world economy is performing.

Chemical maker DuPont said it will have to cut jobs and other expenses to make up for weak demand. 3M, which makes all manner of products including Scotch tape and coatings for LCD screens, cut its profit prediction for the year.

UPS, the world's largest package-delivery company, warned that the pace of global growth remains uneven. And Xerox said the "challenging economy" is causing "cost pressures for large enterprises and governments."

The rest of the year isn't looking great, either. Through Tuesday afternoon, 29 companies in the S&P 500 had updated predictions for fourth-quarter results, according to researchers at S&P Capital IQ. Of those, 23 lowered their forecasts, and six kept them roughly the same. None said they were expecting things to be better than they already predicted.

And of 123 companies in the S&P 500 that had reported earnings as of Monday, only 38 percent beat expectations on revenue, according to John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet, a provider of financial data.

That's far below the average of the past four years, when the final percentage of companies that beat revenue estimates has been around 56 percent. It's also the lowest proportion since the first quarter of 2009, when the stock market hit its lowest point of the Great Recession.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER ▼ -243.36 points or ▼ -1.82% Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,102.53 ▼ -243.36 ▼ -1.82%
Nasdaq____ 2,990.46 ▼ -26.50 ▼ -0.88%
S&P_500__ 1,413.11 ▼ -20.71 ▼ -1.44%
30_Yr_Bond 2.916 ▼ -0.03 ▼ -1.05%

NYSE Volume 3,562,305,750
Nasdaq Volume 1,830,397,880

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,797.91 ▼ -85.00 ▼ -1.44%
DAX_____ 7,173.69 ▼ -154.36 ▼ -2.11%
CAC_40__ 3,406.50 ▼ -76.75 ▼ -2.20%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,568.00 ▲ 3.40 ▲ 0.07%
Shanghai_Comp 2,114.45 ▼ -18.31 ▼ -0.86%
Taiwan_Weight 7,337.48 ▼ -35.56 ▼ -0.48%
Nikkei_225____ 9,014.25 ▲ 3.54 ▲ 0.04%
Hang_Seng____ 21,697.55 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.68%
Strait_Times___ 3,050.93 ▲ 5.26 ▲ 0.17%
NZX_50_Index__ 4,004.26 ▲ 16.10 ▲ 0.40%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-sink-dupont-xerox-3m-204225919.html

Stocks sink as DuPont, Xerox, 3M scare investors

Stocks sink as companies report weak revenue; one of the worst days on Wall Street this year

By Christina Rexrode

Nobody was expecting this round of corporate earnings reports to be great. But companies' underwhelming results are still rattling investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged Tuesday to its lowest level in nearly seven weeks. Big-name companies reported weak quarterly revenue and lowered their forecasts for the rest of the year.

The Dow sank as much as 262 points, or roughly 2 percent, before ending the day down 243.36 points to 13,102.53. The decline was the Dow's third-steepest this year.

Other indexes also fell sharply. The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 20.71 points to 1,413.11, and the Nasdaq composite index lost 26.50 points to 2,990.46. The Nasdaq hadn't closed below 3,000 since Aug. 6.

On the New York Stock Exchange, for every stock that rose, roughly three fell.

Companies of all stripes signaled that the economy is far from healed, and that demand is weaker than a year ago. Revenue fell compared with a year ago at DuPont, 3M, UPS and Xerox.

Because of their global footprints and variety of products and services, those companies augur how the world economy is performing.

Chemical maker DuPont said it will have to cut jobs and other expenses to make up for weak demand. 3M, which makes all manner of products including Scotch tape and coatings for LCD screens, cut its profit prediction for the year.

UPS, the world's largest package-delivery company, warned that the pace of global growth remains uneven. And Xerox said the "challenging economy" is causing "cost pressures for large enterprises and governments."

The rest of the year isn't looking great, either. Through Tuesday afternoon, 29 companies in the S&P 500 had updated predictions for fourth-quarter results, according to researchers at S&P Capital IQ. Of those, 23 lowered their forecasts, and six kept them roughly the same. None said they were expecting things to be better than they already predicted.

And of 123 companies in the S&P 500 that had reported earnings as of Monday, only 38 percent beat expectations on revenue, according to John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet, a provider of financial data.

That's far below the average of the past four years, when the final percentage of companies that beat revenue estimates has been around 56 percent. It's also the lowest proportion since the first quarter of 2009, when the stock market hit its lowest point of the Great Recession.

Companies have done better on earnings: 67 percent have beat expectations so far, Butters said. But investors at the moment are more interested in revenue.

Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors in Oklahoma City, didn't think it was just the soft results driving the market's plunge Tuesday. Many analysts were already expecting lower earnings growth and revenue before companies started reporting results, so the weak results aren't a huge surprise.

The earnings, Courtney said, are just a symptom of a bigger problem ”” a sputtering economy.

"They're using (earnings) as an excuse, but it's the broader issues that are driving it," Courtney said. "What's going to happen with the election, what's going to happen with the fiscal cliff? Europe is already in recession ”” are we going to go, too? That fear is driving a lot of the selling right now."

The so-called fiscal cliff is a combination of tax increases and government spending cuts that will take effect Jan. 1, and that could send the U.S. back into recession, unless Congress intervenes.

DuPont, Xerox and 3M were among the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 on Tuesday. DuPont slid $4.51 to $45.25. Xerox lost 36 cents to $6.67. 3M slipped $3.80 to $88.73. The exception was UPS, which rose $2.17 to $73.73.

Some of the disappointing revenue is because of weakness in foreign markets. Multinational companies are having a hard time selling to Europe, which has been hobbled by recession, and emerging markets like China and India, where growth is slowing. Businesses that had relied on growth there to offset weak U.S. consumer demand are being forced to come up with new strategies.

"The recession in Europe is very real," said Bernard Schoenfeld, senior investment strategist for Bank of New York Mellon Wealth Management in New York. "It's not going to disappear very quickly, and it will certainly negatively affect earnings of exporters in the United States."

Companies are also blaming some of the revenue declines on the stronger dollar. As the dollar gains value, as it has over the past year, the money that multinational companies make overseas translates into fewer dollars back at headquarters.

"They're feeling the pain of the stronger dollar," said Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management in New York. "Companies try to hedge, but they don't always hedge perfectly."

This earnings season alone, Google, Philip Morris, IBM and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. have complained that the stronger dollar has hurt revenue, Lien noted.

The price of crude oil fell to a three-month low, another sign that investors expect a weak economy. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note sank to 1.76 percent late in the day, from 1.82 percent Monday, as nervous investors sold stocks and shifted money into low-risk U.S. government bonds.

Among other stocks making moves Tuesday:

”” Luxury handbag maker Coach was a bright spot, reporting higher revenue for the latest quarter. It jumped $3.98 to $58.15, one of the best performers in the whole market.

”” Apple fell $20.67 to $613.36, more than 3 percent, after it released a smaller version of its iPad. It is meant to help Apple compete with Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, but Apple priced its tablet higher than the others, which could crimp sales.

Apple has the most sway on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite, so a poor day for Apple's stock can heavily impact both indexes.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

The steep losses finally stopped Wednesday as the stock market turned calm, a day after one of its biggest sell-offs of the year. Indexes ended with slight losses after the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy still needs support.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 25.19 points at 13,077.34, a day after one of its worst drops this year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.36 points to close at 1,408.75 while the Nasdaq composite index fell 8.76 points to 2,991.70.

"Today we're assessing the damage," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "Everybody just got clobbered yesterday."

Lower corporate revenue and expectations for the rest of the year drove the Dow down 243 points Tuesday, its third-biggest drop this year. DuPont, 3M, UPS and Xerox all reported lower sales than a year ago.

"It seemed out of the blue, but what we were seeing was stock prices adjusting to corporate profitability," Luschini said.

The market flitted between small gains and losses for much of the day. Indexes started to fade after 2 p.m., after the Fed repeated its assessment that the U.S. economic recovery remains modest at best.

At the end of its latest two-day meeting, the Fed said the economy is still expanding at just a "moderate pace" and that it needs time to see whether a new bond-buying effort launched in September will spur economic growth and new hiring.

The latest batch of earnings reports wasn't as dire, and there was the occasional piece of encouraging news.

Facebook had its best day since its stock market debut in May. The company said late Tuesday that 14 percent of its advertising revenue came from mobile devices, allaying some investor concerns.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER ▼ -25.19 points or ▼ -0.19% Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,077.34 ▼ -25.19 ▼ -0.19%
Nasdaq____ 2,981.70 ▼ -8.76 ▼ -0.29%
S&P_500__ 1,408.75 ▼ -4.36 ▼ -0.31%
30_Yr_Bond 2.930 ▲ 0.02 ▲ 0.58%

NYSE Volume 3,346,045,750
Nasdaq Volume 1,965,715,000

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,804.78 ▲ 6.87 ▲ 0.12%
DAX_____ 7,192.85 ▲ 19.16 ▲ 0.27%
CAC_40__ 3,426.49 ▲ 19.99 ▲ 0.59%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,530.60 ▼ -37.40 ▼ -0.82%
Shanghai_Comp 2,115.99 ▲ 1.54 ▲ 0.07%
Taiwan_Weight 7,314.88 ▼ -22.60 ▼ -0.31%
Nikkei_225____ 8,954.30 ▼ -59.95 ▼ -0.67%
Hang_Seng____ 21,763.78 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.31%
Strait_Times___ 3,050.19 ▼ -0.74 ▼ -0.02%
NZX_50_Index__ 4,001.45 ▼ -2.81 ▼ -7.00%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Stocks stabilize on Wall Street after a sell-off

Stock market gives up modest gains to end lower; Netflix plunges on weaker subscriber forecast

By Matthew Craft

The steep losses finally stopped Wednesday as the stock market turned calm, a day after one of its biggest sell-offs of the year. Indexes ended with slight losses after the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy still needs support.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 25.19 points at 13,077.34, a day after one of its worst drops this year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.36 points to close at 1,408.75 while the Nasdaq composite index fell 8.76 points to 2,991.70.

"Today we're assessing the damage," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "Everybody just got clobbered yesterday."

Lower corporate revenue and expectations for the rest of the year drove the Dow down 243 points Tuesday, its third-biggest drop this year. DuPont, 3M, UPS and Xerox all reported lower sales than a year ago.

"It seemed out of the blue, but what we were seeing was stock prices adjusting to corporate profitability," Luschini said.

The market flitted between small gains and losses for much of the day. Indexes started to fade after 2 p.m., after the Fed repeated its assessment that the U.S. economic recovery remains modest at best.

At the end of its latest two-day meeting, the Fed said the economy is still expanding at just a "moderate pace" and that it needs time to see whether a new bond-buying effort launched in September will spur economic growth and new hiring.

The latest batch of earnings reports wasn't as dire, and there was the occasional piece of encouraging news.

Facebook had its best day since its stock market debut in May. The company said late Tuesday that 14 percent of its advertising revenue came from mobile devices, allaying some investor concerns.

The social network's stock soared $3.73 to $23.23, a jump of 19 percent. Facebook has swung widely since its IPO at $38, and has traded as low as $17.55.

AT&T, which is part of the Dow average, said it added the fewest wireless customers since 2003, far behind Verizon Wireless. AT&T's results still managed to beat the estimates of financial analysts. AT&T slid 29 cents to $34.71.

A measure of manufacturing in China, the world's second-largest economy after the United States, improved this month to a three-month high. China's white-hot economic growth has been slowing.

Homebuilder stocks gained after the Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes jumped last month to the highest level in more than two years. Toll Brothers rose 70 cents to $35.25 and D.R. Horton rose 32 cents to $21.41.

A drop in profits for Norfolk Southern hit other railroad stocks. Norfolk Southern reported a 27 percent slump in quarterly earnings late Tuesday, as falling coal prices led to lower revenue. Many utilities have favored using cheap natural gas instead of burning coal this year, pushing down coal prices and weighing on railroad operators.

Norfolk Southern fell $4.92 to $61.09. Union Pacific lost $2.35 to $120.87.

Prices for U.S. government bonds inched lower, sending yields up. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note edged up to 1.79 percent from 1.76 percent late Tuesday.

Among other stocks in the news:

”” Netflix dropped $8.10, or 12 percent, to $60.12. Late Tuesday, it slashed its prediction for how many U.S. video-streaming subscribers it would add this year to 4.7 million to 5 million. It had predicted it would add as many as 7 million.

”” Dow Chemical rose $1.33 to $29.88. The company announced a wide-ranging restructuring plan late Tuesday that includes cutting 2,400 jobs and closing 20 manufacturing facilities. The company cited slowing economic growth in Europe and elsewhere.

”” Tempur-Pedic International sank 20 percent after the maker of memory-foam mattresses reported revenue that was well below the estimates of Wall Street analysts. The company also cut its estimates for full-year profits and revenue. Its stock plunged $6.21 to $25.66.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

A weak showing in home sales and a mixed batch of earnings reports kept stocks flipping between minor gains and losses on Wall Street. By the end of the day, the major indexes managed to eke out their second day of gains this week.

A strong profit report from Procter & Gamble helped indexes start higher early Thursday, but stocks weakened in late morning trading after a realtor group said that the pace of contracts for new home sales had leveled off.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 26.34 points to close at 13,103.68.

"This is a market still working through a difficult earnings season," said Jason Pride, the director of investment strategy for Glenmede, a wealth-management firm.

Pride said investors probably celebrated too much after the Federal Reserve pledged more support for the economy in early September. They overlooked shrinking economies in Europe, slower growth in China and other signs that this earnings season would be rough. In the past two weeks, they've paid for it.

"We had a party and now we're dealing with a hangover," he said. "The market is basically back to where it was at the end of August. I don't think that's unreasonable."

In other trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 4.22 points to 1,412.97 and the Nasdaq gained 4.42 points to 2,986.12.

A recent round of weak corporate earnings from tech giants and industrial companies has shaken investors accustomed to steadily rising profits. Weak revenue numbers and lowered profit projections from Caterpillar, 3M and Google have rattled the stock market.

After two days in which the Dow has dropped more than 200 points in the past week, the average of 30 big companies is now down 2.5 percent for October.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER ▲ 26.34 points or ▲ 0.20% Thursday, 25 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,103.68 ▲ 26.34 ▲ 0.20%
Nasdaq____ 2,986.12 ▲ 4.42 ▲ 0.15%
S&P_500__ 1,412.97 ▲ 4.22 ▲ 0.30%
30_Yr_Bond 2.980 ▲ 0.05 ▲ 1.64%

NYSE Volume 3,447,358,500
Nasdaq Volume 1,958,885,250

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,805.05 ▲ 0.27 ▲ 0.00%
DAX_____ 7,200.23 ▲ 7.38 ▲ 0.10%
CAC_40__ 3,411.53 ▼ -14.96 ▼ -0.44%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,533.50 ▲ 2.90 ▲ 0.06%
Shanghai_Comp 2,101.58 ▼ -14.41 ▼ -0.68%
Taiwan_Weight 7,262.08 ▼ -52.80 ▼ -0.72%
Nikkei_225____ 9,055.20 ▲ 100.90 ▲ 1.13%
Hang_Seng____ 21,810.23 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.21%
Strait_Times___ 3,057.51 ▲ 12.78 ▲ 0.42%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,990.49 ▼ -10.96 ▼ -0.27%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Stocks edge higher, breaking a weeklong slump

Dow, S&P manage meager gains, breaking weeklong slump caused by discouraging earnings reports

By Matthew Craft

A weak showing in home sales and a mixed batch of earnings reports kept stocks flipping between minor gains and losses on Wall Street. By the end of the day, the major indexes managed to eke out their second day of gains this week.

A strong profit report from Procter & Gamble helped indexes start higher early Thursday, but stocks weakened in late morning trading after a realtor group said that the pace of contracts for new home sales had leveled off.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 26.34 points to close at 13,103.68.

"This is a market still working through a difficult earnings season," said Jason Pride, the director of investment strategy for Glenmede, a wealth-management firm.

Pride said investors probably celebrated too much after the Federal Reserve pledged more support for the economy in early September. They overlooked shrinking economies in Europe, slower growth in China and other signs that this earnings season would be rough. In the past two weeks, they've paid for it.

"We had a party and now we're dealing with a hangover," he said. "The market is basically back to where it was at the end of August. I don't think that's unreasonable."

In other trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 4.22 points to 1,412.97 and the Nasdaq gained 4.42 points to 2,986.12.

A recent round of weak corporate earnings from tech giants and industrial companies has shaken investors accustomed to steadily rising profits. Weak revenue numbers and lowered profit projections from Caterpillar, 3M and Google have rattled the stock market.

After two days in which the Dow has dropped more than 200 points in the past week, the average of 30 big companies is now down 2.5 percent for October.

Among companies reporting earnings Thursday, infant formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition plunged 9 percent after its revenue came in well below what Wall Street analysts had expected. The company also cut its forecast for full-year earnings. Its stock slumped $5.98 to $63.53.

Profits at United Airlines slid with fewer people flying, and the company's results fell short of Wall Street's forecasts. Its stock lost $1.01 to $19.26.

Most homebuilders fell after the pace of growth in housing sales slowed last month. PulteGroup fell 44 cents to $17.01. Toll Brothers dropped $1.04 to $34.21.

Procter & Gamble posted the strongest gains of any Dow stock, after the consumer products company, whose products include Tide, Gillette and Charmin, posted earnings that beat analysts' estimates. P&G rose $1.99 to $70.07.

Online game maker Zynga jumped 26 cents to $2.39 after the company reported revenue that was stronger than analysts had anticipated. The company also said it would cut costs and enter the gambling business.

Health insurer Aetna rose 48 cents to $44.43 after reporting a slight gain in third-quarter earnings. Higher revenue and lower-than-expected health care claims helped the company beat Wall Street's profit expectations.

Traders sold U.S. government bonds, sending yields higher. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yielded 1.82 percent, up from 1.79 percent late Wednesday.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Stocks closed mostly lower Friday after investors found little to like in weak corporate earnings reports and news of only tepid growth in the U.S. economy in the third quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average managed a gain of 3.53 points to close at 13,107.21 after spending much of the day in the red.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.03 points to 1,411.94 and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.83 points to 2,987.95.

Stocks rose in the morning before a mild midday sell-off, then recovered somewhat in the afternoon.

The morning gains came after the Commerce Department estimated that the U.S. economy expanded at a 2 percent annual rate from July through September. That was better than the previous quarter, and better than analysts expected, but not strong enough to bring down the unemployment rate.

Even economic data that is mixed or positive won't outweigh weak earnings, said Lawrence Creatura, a portfolio manager with Federated Investors. Reports like the one on Friday that measure gross domestic product tend to be backwards-looking, while companies are offering forecasts about the months ahead, he said.

"Company earnings trump macro data. Because investors own Apple, they don't own GDP," Creatura said.

Apple fell $5.54 to $604 after saying its profit will decline this holiday season.

Even with Friday's rise, stocks lost ground this week, inflecting a sort of death-by-a-thousand-cuts on the rally that began in September. The Dow was down 236.30 points for the week, or 1.8 percent. The S&P has fallen 21.25 points, or 1.5 percent.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER ▲ 3.53 points or ▲ 0.03% Friday, 26 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,107.21 ▲ 3.53 ▲ 0.03%
Nasdaq____ 2,987.95 ▲ 1.83 ▲ 0.06%
S&P_500__ 1,411.94 ▼ -1.03 ▼ -0.07%
30_Yr_Bond 2.918 ▼ -0.06 ▼ -2.11%

NYSE Volume 3,232,358,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,840,589,500

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,806.71 ▲ 1.66 ▲ 0.03%
DAX_____ 7,231.85 ▲ 31.62 ▲ 0.44%
CAC_40__ 3,435.09 ▲ 23.56 ▲ 0.69%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,496.30 ▼ -37.20 ▼ -0.82%
Shanghai_Comp 2,066.21 ▼ -35.37 ▼ -1.68%
Taiwan_Weight 7,134.06 ▼ -128.02 ▼ -1.76%
Nikkei_225____ 8,933.06 ▼ -122.14 ▼ -1.35%
Hang_Seng____ 21,545.57 ▲ 53.93 ▼ -1.21%
Strait_Times___ 3,057.51 ▲ 12.78 ▲ 0.42%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,983.78 ▼ -6.71 ▼ -0.17%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/weak-...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Weak earnings reports weigh on stocks

Stocks struggle after latest batch of mixed earnings reports; Goodyear Tire, others disappoint

By Joshua Freed

Stocks closed mostly lower Friday after investors found little to like in weak corporate earnings reports and news of only tepid growth in the U.S. economy in the third quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average managed a gain of 3.53 points to close at 13,107.21 after spending much of the day in the red.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.03 points to 1,411.94 and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.83 points to 2,987.95.

Stocks rose in the morning before a mild midday sell-off, then recovered somewhat in the afternoon.

The morning gains came after the Commerce Department estimated that the U.S. economy expanded at a 2 percent annual rate from July through September. That was better than the previous quarter, and better than analysts expected, but not strong enough to bring down the unemployment rate.

Even economic data that is mixed or positive won't outweigh weak earnings, said Lawrence Creatura, a portfolio manager with Federated Investors. Reports like the one on Friday that measure gross domestic product tend to be backwards-looking, while companies are offering forecasts about the months ahead, he said.

"Company earnings trump macro data. Because investors own Apple, they don't own GDP," Creatura said.

Apple fell $5.54 to $604 after saying its profit will decline this holiday season.

Even with Friday's rise, stocks lost ground this week, inflecting a sort of death-by-a-thousand-cuts on the rally that began in September. The Dow was down 236.30 points for the week, or 1.8 percent. The S&P has fallen 21.25 points, or 1.5 percent.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber sank 10 percent after a steep dropoff in sales in Europe delivered a blow to its earnings. The stock fell $1.28 to $11.02.

The advertising conglomerate Interpublic also turned in results that fell short of analysts' forecasts, and its stock fell 2.5 percent, or 26 cents, to $10.29.

Amazon rose $15.32, or 7 percent, to $238.24 despite a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit and a prediction for smaller-than-expected holiday revenue.

Among other companies making big moves, cable TV provider Comcast jumped $1.20, or 3.3 percent, to $37.56 after reporting that its income more than doubled in the latest quarter. Revenue was higher than analysts were expecting, and more customers signed up for premium services like high-definition video recorders.

Varian Medical Systems jumped $8.83, or 15 percent, to $66.93, the biggest increase in the S&P 500 index. The company, which sells medical imaging equipment and radiation-emitting devices for treating tumors, reported a 20 percent rise in income because of higher sales of devices.

On its first day of trading, dairy company WhiteWave Foods lost 25 cents to $16.75, down from its initial public offering price of $17, after rising as high as $19.17 earlier.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.75 percent from 1.82 percent on Thursday

3931

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Stock trading will be closed in the U.S. for a second day Tuesday as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast. Bond trading will also be closed.

The last time the New York Stock Exchange was closed for weather was in 1985 because of Hurricane Gloria, and it will be the first time since 1888 that the exchange will have been closed for two consecutive days because of weather. The cause then was a blizzard that left drifts as high as 40 feet in the streets of New York City.

The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq said they intend to reopen on Wednesday and would keep investors updated.

Much of the East Coast was at a standstill Monday as the storm approached. Mass transit and schools were closed across the region ahead of the storm hitting land, which was expected to happen later Monday.

Areas around New York's Financial District were part of a mandatory evacuation zone. The storm surge is already pushing water over seawalls in the southern tip of Manhattan.

CME Group's New York trading floor was closed, but electronic markets were functioning. Crude oil fell 80 cents to $85.48 in electronic trading.

CME hasn't made any announcements about trading on its markets for Tuesday. CME owns exchanges that trade commodities, futures, options and securities related to interest rates.

Bond trading will also be closed Tuesday. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association called for an early close to bond trading Monday, at 12 noon. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was 1.72 percent, compared with 1.75 percent late Friday.

European stock markets fell. France's CAC-40 fell 0.8 percent, Britain's FTSE fell 0.2 percent and Germany's DAX lost 0.4 percent. Insurers such as Munich Re, Aviva PLC and Zurich Insurance fared worse than other stocks as investors worried about the potential cost of the storm's damage.

Stock trading will be closed in the U.S. for a second day Tuesday as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast. Bond trading will also be closed. The NYSE DOW last closed on Friday, 26 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,107.21 ▲ 3.53 ▲ 0.03%
Nasdaq____ 2,987.95 ▲ 1.83 ▲ 0.06%
S&P_500__ 1,411.94 ▼ -1.03 ▼ -0.07%
30_Yr_Bond 2.918 ▼ -0.06 ▼ -2.11%

NYSE Volume 0
Nasdaq Volume 0

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,795.10 ▼ -11.61 ▼ -0.20%
DAX_____ 7,203.16 ▼ -28.69 ▼ -0.40%
CAC_40__ 3,408.89 ▼ -26.20 ▼ -0.76%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,499.40 ▲ 3.10 ▲ 0.07%
Shanghai_Comp 2,058.94 ▼ -7.27 ▼ -0.35%
Taiwan_Weight 7,091.67 ▼ -42.39 ▼ -0.59%
Nikkei_225____ 8,929.34 ▼ -3.72 ▼ -0.04%
Hang_Seng____ 21,511.05 ▲ 53.93 ▼ -0.16%
Strait_Times___ 3,029.61 ▼ -27.90 ▼ -0.91%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,951.30 ▼ -32.48 ▼ -0.82%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/storm...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Storm will keep financial markets closed Tuesday

New York Stock Exchange, other markets will remain closed Tuesday due to Hurricane Sandy

Stock trading will be closed in the U.S. for a second day Tuesday as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast. Bond trading will also be closed.

The last time the New York Stock Exchange was closed for weather was in 1985 because of Hurricane Gloria, and it will be the first time since 1888 that the exchange will have been closed for two consecutive days because of weather. The cause then was a blizzard that left drifts as high as 40 feet in the streets of New York City.

The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq said they intend to reopen on Wednesday and would keep investors updated.

Much of the East Coast was at a standstill Monday as the storm approached. Mass transit and schools were closed across the region ahead of the storm hitting land, which was expected to happen later Monday.

Areas around New York's Financial District were part of a mandatory evacuation zone. The storm surge is already pushing water over seawalls in the southern tip of Manhattan.

CME Group's New York trading floor was closed, but electronic markets were functioning. Crude oil fell 80 cents to $85.48 in electronic trading.

CME hasn't made any announcements about trading on its markets for Tuesday. CME owns exchanges that trade commodities, futures, options and securities related to interest rates.

Bond trading will also be closed Tuesday. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association called for an early close to bond trading Monday, at 12 noon. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was 1.72 percent, compared with 1.75 percent late Friday.

European stock markets fell. France's CAC-40 fell 0.8 percent, Britain's FTSE fell 0.2 percent and Germany's DAX lost 0.4 percent. Insurers such as Munich Re, Aviva PLC and Zurich Insurance fared worse than other stocks as investors worried about the potential cost of the storm's damage.

"The economic impact cannot be underestimated," said Elsa Lignos, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

The uncertainty generated by the storm comes at the start of a big week in the United States. This is the last full week before next Tuesday's presidential election and culminates Friday with the release of monthly jobs data, which many analysts think could have an impact on the vote.

"A significant swing in either direction is likely to be heavily reported in the media, potentially swinging the undecided voter," said James Hughes, chief market analyst at Alpari, of the jobs figures.

Some companies are postponing quarterly earnings reports scheduled for release early this week. So far, that includes Pfizer Inc. and Thomson Reuters. Burger King reported on schedule, and said its third-quarter net income fell 83 percent as revenue was hurt by the stronger dollar. Adjusted results topped expectations, however.

Even with many markets shut down, there was some encouraging news about the U.S. economy Monday. The Commerce Department reported that consumer spending increased 0.8 percent in September. That followed a 0.5 percent gain in August and was the best showing since February.

Personal income rose 0.4 percent, an improvement from a slight 0.1 percent gain in August and the best gain since March. It's a closely watched indicator as consumer spending drives about 70 percent of the nation's economic activity.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

New York Stock Exchange will reopen Wednesday after 2-day shutdown because of Hurricane Sandy

Stock trading was closed in the U.S. for a second day Tuesday as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast. Bond trading was also closed.

The NYSE DOW last closed on Friday, 26 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,107.21 ▲ 3.53 ▲ 0.03%
Nasdaq____ 2,987.95 ▲ 1.83 ▲ 0.06%
S&P_500__ 1,411.94 ▼ -1.03 ▼ -0.07%
30_Yr_Bond 2.918 ▼ -0.06 ▼ -2.11%

NYSE Volume 0
Nasdaq Volume 0

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,849.90 ▲ 54.80 ▲ 0.95%
DAX_____ 7,284.40 ▲ 81.24 ▲ 1.13%
CAC_40__ 3,459.44 ▲ 50.55 ▲ 1.48%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,505.70 ▲ 6.30 ▲ 0.14%
Shanghai_Comp 2,062.35 ▲ 3.40 ▲ 0.17%
Taiwan_Weight 7,182.59 ▲ 90.92 ▲ 1.28%
Nikkei_225____ 8,841.98 ▼ -87.36 ▼ -0.98%
Hang_Seng____ 21,428.58 ▲ 53.93 ▼ -0.38%
Strait_Times___ 3,038.73 ▲ 9.12 ▲ 0.30%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,941.28 ▼ -10.01 ▼ -0.25%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/york-...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

New York Stock Exchange will reopen Wednesday

New York Stock Exchange will reopen Wednesday after 2-day shutdown because of Hurricane Sandy

The New York Stock Exchange will reopen for regular trading Wednesday after being shut down for two days because of Hurricane Sandy.

The exchange said in a statement Tuesday that its building and trading floor are fully operational and that normal trading will resume at the usual starting time of 9:30 a.m.

There had been erroneous reports Monday that the exchange floor had flooded. Exchange spokesman Ray Pellecchia said the exchange's building did not have any flooding or damage.

Tuesday marks the first time since 1888 that the NYSE remained closed for two consecutive days because of weather. The earlier shutdown was caused by a massive snow storm.

Sections of Manhattan were inundated with water Tuesday and power was shut off to millions of people and businesses up and down the East Coast.

Dozens of companies have postponed earnings reports this week because of the storm, but Ford Motor Co. did release results for the third quarter that topped Wall Street expectations.

Ford's revenue fell 3 percent to $32.1 billion because of the economic crisis in Europe and falling sales in South America. The company exceeded Wall Street's revenue forecast of $31.5 billion largely because of North America, where revenue jumped 8 percent.

European stock markets rose broadly Tuesday after falling the day before. Trading was subdued in the wake of the storm. Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 0.9 percent, Germany's DAX rose 1.1 percent and the CAC-40 in France was 1.5 percent higher.

Crude oil rose 14 cents to settle at $85.68 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

U.S. bond trading was closed Tuesday.

Electronic trading for U.S. stock index futures was open, but trading volume was very light and the price moves were minuscule.

As of the regular close of trading at 9:15 a.m., Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 8 points to 13,062. S&P 500 futures added 3.50 points to 1,411.10. Nasdaq futures slipped 3.75 points to 2,655.25.

On Monday, when regular U.S. stock trading was also closed, stock index futures fell slightly

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday in their first session since Hurricane Sandy forced an historic two-day shutdown of trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 10.75 points to 13,096.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose, but barely ”” up 0.22 of a point to 1,412.16.

Investors were nervous that a flood of orders after two days of pent-up demand from customers might lead to volatile trading. But stock prices barely budged at the opening, and stayed within a tight range throughout the day.

"It's been very smooth," Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext, told CNBC from the exchange floor shortly after the opening bell. "The market-making community is more than staffed enough to be open."

The last time the New York Stock Exchange closed for two consecutive days because of weather was during the Blizzard of 1888 ”” 124 years ago. Since power was out in large parts of downtown Manhattan on Wednesday, the trading floor had to be run on backup generators.

Home Depot and Lowe's rose as investors anticipated more business for the home improvement chains as people made repairs in the aftermath of the devastating storm. Home Depot gained $1.34 to $61.38 and Lowe's rose $1.02 to $32.38.

Netflix soared $9.66 to $79.24 after financier Carl Icahn said he had bought a 10 percent stake in the troubled company.

Among the losers were insurers Chubb, Allstate and Travelers. Investors worried that the companies are most likely to suffer losses due to insurance claims. The trio have a large share of the insurance market in areas where Hurricane Sandy hit.

Chubb fell 98 cents to $76.98, Travelers dropped 62 cents to $70.94 and Allstate slipped 17 cents to $39.98.

Half of the ten industry sectors in the S&P 500 fell. Health-care stocks were down 0.7 percent, the biggest drop. Utility stocks led the gainers with a rise of 0.8 percent.

Stocks flitted between small gains and losses in the last hour of trading. The indexes started the day higher than the close on Friday, the last trading day. Then they dropped, and stayed in the red for much of the day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 10.72 points to 2,977.23.

The opening followed days of scrambling by NYSE officials to make sure power, telecom connections and computers would be ready. Many workers on the floor use the subways to get downtown, but Hurricane Sandy left the system with its worst damage in its 108-year history. New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, said says limited subway service will resume in New York City on Thursday.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER ▼ -10.75 points or ▼ -0.08% Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,096.46 ▼ -10.75 ▼ -0.08%
Nasdaq______ 2,977.23 ▼ -10.72 ▼ -0.36%
S&P_500____ 1,412.16 ▲ 0.22 ▲ 0.02%
30_Yr_Bond___ 2.851 ▼ -0.07 ▼ -2.30%

NYSE Volume 3,542,963,500
Nasdaq Volume 1,806,794,500

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,782.70 ▼ -67.20 ▼ -1.15%
DAX_____ 7,260.63 ▼ -23.77 ▼ -0.33%
CAC_40__ 3,429.27 ▼ -30.17 ▼ -0.87%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,535.40 ▲ 29.70 ▲ 0.66%
Shanghai_Comp 2,068.88 ▲ 6.53 ▲ 0.32%
Taiwan_Weight 7,166.05 ▼ -16.54 ▼ -0.23%
Nikkei_225____ 8,928.29 ▲ 86.31 ▲ 0.98%
Hang_Seng____ 21,641.82 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 1.00%
Strait_Times___ 3,038.37 ▼ -0.36 ▼ -0.01%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,957.88 ▲ 16.59 ▲ 0.42%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-st...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

US stocks mixed after historic 2-day close
US stocks end mixed on Wall Street after historic 2-day shutdown due to Superstorm Sandy
By Bernard Condon,

Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday in their first session since Hurricane Sandy forced an historic two-day shutdown of trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 10.75 points to 13,096.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose, but barely ”” up 0.22 of a point to 1,412.16.

Investors were nervous that a flood of orders after two days of pent-up demand from customers might lead to volatile trading. But stock prices barely budged at the opening, and stayed within a tight range throughout the day.

"It's been very smooth," Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext, told CNBC from the exchange floor shortly after the opening bell. "The market-making community is more than staffed enough to be open."

The last time the New York Stock Exchange closed for two consecutive days because of weather was during the Blizzard of 1888 ”” 124 years ago. Since power was out in large parts of downtown Manhattan on Wednesday, the trading floor had to be run on backup generators.

Home Depot and Lowe's rose as investors anticipated more business for the home improvement chains as people made repairs in the aftermath of the devastating storm. Home Depot gained $1.34 to $61.38 and Lowe's rose $1.02 to $32.38.

Netflix soared $9.66 to $79.24 after financier Carl Icahn said he had bought a 10 percent stake in the troubled company.

Among the losers were insurers Chubb, Allstate and Travelers. Investors worried that the companies are most likely to suffer losses due to insurance claims. The trio have a large share of the insurance market in areas where Hurricane Sandy hit.

Chubb fell 98 cents to $76.98, Travelers dropped 62 cents to $70.94 and Allstate slipped 17 cents to $39.98.

Half of the ten industry sectors in the S&P 500 fell. Health-care stocks were down 0.7 percent, the biggest drop. Utility stocks led the gainers with a rise of 0.8 percent.

Stocks flitted between small gains and losses in the last hour of trading. The indexes started the day higher than the close on Friday, the last trading day. Then they dropped, and stayed in the red for much of the day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 10.72 points to 2,977.23.

The opening followed days of scrambling by NYSE officials to make sure power, telecom connections and computers would be ready. Many workers on the floor use the subways to get downtown, but Hurricane Sandy left the system with its worst damage in its 108-year history. New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, said says limited subway service will resume in New York City on Thursday.

About three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was 3.4 billion shares, in line with the recent average.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.69 percent from 1.72 percent at midday Monday. Bond trading was closed Tuesday and ended early Monday because of the storm.

Among other stocks making big moves:

””Facebook fell 83 cents to $21.11, a loss of nearly 4 percent. Facebook employees became eligible this week to sell restricted stock for the first time. Up to 1.5 billion more shares could be sold, about 3.5 times the 421 million shares that had been trading since Facebook's initial public offering in May.

”” General Motors jumped $2.22 to $25.50 after the company reported a turnaround in its South American business and gave a brighter outlook for sales in Europe. GM posted better-than-expected results internationally outside of China

”” Apple fell $8.68 to $595.32. The Wall Street Journal reported that the head of Apple's iPhone software development was asked to resign after he refused to sign a letter apologizing for the flaws of Apple's mapping application.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

It's only been a day, but November on Wall Street is already looking a lot better than October.

Strong economic data and corporate news converged Thursday to give U.S. stocks their best day since mid-September. Positive signs about the job market and soaring sales figures pushed stock futures up before the market opened. A half-hour into trading, reports on manufacturing and consumer confidence added another log to the fire.

The Dow Jones industrial average had already risen 100 points when the mid-morning reports came out. The data ”” including news that manufacturing grew for the second straight month ”” pushed it up as much as 177 points. It fell back some, but held a steady gain for the rest of the day.

The Dow closed up 136.16 points, or 1 percent, to close at 13,232.62. It was the best day for the Dow since Sept. 13.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15.43 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,427.59. The Nasdaq composite index added 42.83, or 1.4 percent, to 3,020.06.

All three indexes fell in October, their first monthly losses since May.

The 10 a.m. surge came after the Institute for Supply Management said factories are seeing more new orders and increased production. The index has shown growth for the first two months of this quarter, an encouraging sign about the health of corporate America. Before that, manufacturing had decreased for three straight months.

The Conference Board said Americans' confidence in the economy surged last month to the highest level in nearly five years. Many were encouraged by an improving job market, the group said.

Traders watch manufacturing and consumer confidence because factories and consumers are crucial players in the economic recovery. Manufacturing lifted America out of recession, and the resurgent car industry has supported the economy during recent periods of weakness. Consumers, meanwhile, account for about 70 percent of economic activity. If they're not happy enough to spend, no one else has the buying power to take up the slack.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER ▲ 136.16 points or ▲ 1.04% Thursday, 1 November 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,232.62 ▲ 136.16 ▲ 1.04%
Nasdaq____ 3,020.06 ▲ 42.83 ▲ 1.44%
S&P_500____ 1,427.59 ▲ 15.43 ▲ 1.09%
30_Yr_Bond____ 2.897 ▲ 0.05 ▲ 1.61%

NYSE Volume 3,885,175,750
Nasdaq Volume 1,878,269,620

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,861.92 ▲ 79.22 ▲ 1.37%
DAX_____ 7,335.67 ▲ 75.04 ▲ 1.03%
CAC_40__ 3,475.40 ▲ 46.13 ▲ 1.35%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,479.90 ▼ -55.50 ▼ -1.22%
Shanghai_Comp 2,104.43 ▲ 35.55 ▲ 1.72%
Taiwan_Weight 7,179.64 ▲ 13.59 ▲ 0.19%
Nikkei_225____ 8,946.87 ▲ 18.58 ▲ 0.21%
Hang_Seng____ 21,821.87 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.83%
Strait_Times___ 3,026.61 ▼ -11.76 ▼ -0.39%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,931.88 ▲ 0.00 ▲ 0.00%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-st...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

US stocks rise on strong economic data

US stocks rise on strong manufacturing and consumer data, positive sales and earnings reports

By Daniel Wagner,

It's only been a day, but November on Wall Street is already looking a lot better than October.

Strong economic data and corporate news converged Thursday to give U.S. stocks their best day since mid-September. Positive signs about the job market and soaring sales figures pushed stock futures up before the market opened. A half-hour into trading, reports on manufacturing and consumer confidence added another log to the fire.

The Dow Jones industrial average had already risen 100 points when the mid-morning reports came out. The data ”” including news that manufacturing grew for the second straight month ”” pushed it up as much as 177 points. It fell back some, but held a steady gain for the rest of the day.

The Dow closed up 136.16 points, or 1 percent, to close at 13,232.62. It was the best day for the Dow since Sept. 13.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15.43 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,427.59. The Nasdaq composite index added 42.83, or 1.4 percent, to 3,020.06.

All three indexes fell in October, their first monthly losses since May.

The 10 a.m. surge came after the Institute for Supply Management said factories are seeing more new orders and increased production. The index has shown growth for the first two months of this quarter, an encouraging sign about the health of corporate America. Before that, manufacturing had decreased for three straight months.

The Conference Board said Americans' confidence in the economy surged last month to the highest level in nearly five years. Many were encouraged by an improving job market, the group said.

Traders watch manufacturing and consumer confidence because factories and consumers are crucial players in the economic recovery. Manufacturing lifted America out of recession, and the resurgent car industry has supported the economy during recent periods of weakness. Consumers, meanwhile, account for about 70 percent of economic activity. If they're not happy enough to spend, no one else has the buying power to take up the slack.

Manufacturing growth tends to signal higher corporate earnings, said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management. U.S. companies are midway through reporting their third-quarter earnings, which have been relatively weak. If factories keep boosting their output, Cote said, earnings are more likely to bounce back in the fourth quarter.

"What you want to see is advancing corporate profits, broad manufacturing growth and strong consumer spending," Cote said. Cote said those factors, along with corporate earnings, set the tone for the market.

Also setting the tone Thursday was anticipation of the Labor Department's October jobs report, which is due out on Friday. Before trading began, the government said new applications for unemployment benefits fell 9,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 363,000, a level consistent with modest hiring. Separately, payroll provider ADP said businesses added 158,000 jobs in October.

Those data are a warm-up for Friday's overall survey of the job market. The report will be watched closely by traders seeking clues about how well the U.S. economy is recovering. If the number is especially good or bad, it also could influence the outcome of next week's presidential election.

It was the second day of trading after Superstorm Sandy ravaged New York and forced markets to close on Monday and Tuesday. Companies that had postponed earnings announcements rushed to release their results.

The combination of better news on the economy and U.S. companies set stocks on a positive course. The upswing started with strong sales results from retailers and automakers. Chrysler had its best October in five years, with sales rising 10 percent, despite the three-day disruption caused by the storm.

Exxon Mobil beat the financial expectations of analysts surveyed by FactSet, but reported lower production of oil and gas. Its stock rose 43 cents to $91.60.

Kellogg Co.'s net income edged up in the third quarter as its acquisition of Pringles chips earlier this year paid off. Kellogg leapt $1.18, or 2.3 percent, to $53.50.

Pfizer said its third-quarter profit fell 14 percent on plunging sales, mainly due to new competition from generic forms of Lipitor, long the world's top-selling drug. Pfizer fell 32 cents to $24.55.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Waterlogged from Superstorm Sandy and unmoved by a solid October jobs report, U.S. stocks fell sharply Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 139 points as details about the storm's costs began to trickle out.

Verizon Communications, whose downtown Manhattan facilities are still without power, said the storm would have a "significant" effect on its fourth-quarter earnings. Verizon said it could not yet estimate the cost of the storm, which downed cell towers across the region. Its stock fell 62 cents to $44.52.

"The information coming out from the economic impact of Sandy is a negative," said Rob Lutts, president of Cabot Money Management in Salem, Mass. "I think the markets are trying to digest that and understand that, so there is a little bit of uncertainty."

Insurers, the group that will feel the storm's effects most acutely, plunged en masse as analysts warned that the storm will eat into their income. Raymond James analysts lowered their estimates for Allstate; Barclays analysts cut theirs for Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.

The chairman of Hartford, Liam McGee, told investors on a conference call that the storm's costs are just beginning to come into focus. "It's much too early for us to provide data with any level of certainty," McGee said. He said it wasn't until Thursday that adjustors were able to view the damage to Long Island, one of the hardest-hit areas.

Hartford fell 66 cents, or 3 percent, to $21.26. Allstate dropped 49 cents to $38.56. American International Group Inc. plunged $2.52, or 7 percent, to $32.68. Genworth Financial Inc. dropped 16 cents, or 3 percent, to $6.06.

After a day of steady selling, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 139.46 points, or 1.1 percent, at 13,093.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 13.39, or 0.9 percent, at 1,414.20. The Nasdaq composite index lost 37.93 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,982.13.

The day started with a burst of hope: In the last big piece of economic news before Tuesday's presidential election, the Labor Department said employers added 171,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9 percent. More jobs were added in the previous two months than was first reported, the government said.

European stocks rose on the news and U.S. stocks opened higher. The Dow gained as much as 57 points in the first half-hour of trading. After that, the indexes commenced a steady slide.

All ten categories in the S&P 500 were lower by the end of the day. Consumer discretionary stocks had the narrowest loss.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER ▼ -139.46 points or ▼ -1.05% Friday, 2 November 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,093.16 ▼ -139.46 ▼ -1.05%
Nasdaq____ 2,982.13 ▼ -37.93 ▼ -1.26%
S&P_500____ 1,414.20 ▼ -13.39 ▼ -0.94%
30_Yr_Bond____ 2.917 ▲ 0.02 ▲ 0.69%

NYSE Volume 3,576,460,250
Nasdaq Volume 1,820,933,250

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,868.55 ▲ 6.63 ▲ 0.11%
DAX_____ 7,363.85 ▲ 28.18 ▲ 0.38%
CAC_40__ 3,492.46 ▲ 17.06 ▲ 0.49%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,483.30 ▲ 3.40 ▲ 0.08%
Shanghai_Comp 2,117.05 ▲ 12.62 ▲ 0.60%
Taiwan_Weight 7,210.47 ▲ 30.83 ▲ 0.43%
Nikkei_225____ 9,051.22 ▲ 104.35 ▲ 1.17%
Hang_Seng____ 22,111.33 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 1.33%
Strait_Times___ 3,040.75 ▲ 14.14 ▲ 0.47%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,914.08 ▼ -17.81 ▼ -0.45%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-stocks-waterlogged-sandys-mounting-204539207.html

US stocks waterlogged by Sandy's mounting costs

Stocks sink as the costs of Superstorm Sandy add up; a solid jobs report offers little relief

By Daniel Wagner, AP Business Writer

Waterlogged from Superstorm Sandy and unmoved by a solid October jobs report, U.S. stocks fell sharply Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 139 points as details about the storm's costs began to trickle out.

Verizon Communications, whose downtown Manhattan facilities are still without power, said the storm would have a "significant" effect on its fourth-quarter earnings. Verizon said it could not yet estimate the cost of the storm, which downed cell towers across the region. Its stock fell 62 cents to $44.52.

"The information coming out from the economic impact of Sandy is a negative," said Rob Lutts, president of Cabot Money Management in Salem, Mass. "I think the markets are trying to digest that and understand that, so there is a little bit of uncertainty."

Insurers, the group that will feel the storm's effects most acutely, plunged en masse as analysts warned that the storm will eat into their income. Raymond James analysts lowered their estimates for Allstate; Barclays analysts cut theirs for Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.

The chairman of Hartford, Liam McGee, told investors on a conference call that the storm's costs are just beginning to come into focus. "It's much too early for us to provide data with any level of certainty," McGee said. He said it wasn't until Thursday that adjustors were able to view the damage to Long Island, one of the hardest-hit areas.

Hartford fell 66 cents, or 3 percent, to $21.26. Allstate dropped 49 cents to $38.56. American International Group Inc. plunged $2.52, or 7 percent, to $32.68. Genworth Financial Inc. dropped 16 cents, or 3 percent, to $6.06.

After a day of steady selling, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 139.46 points, or 1.1 percent, at 13,093.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 13.39, or 0.9 percent, at 1,414.20. The Nasdaq composite index lost 37.93 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,982.13.

The day started with a burst of hope: In the last big piece of economic news before Tuesday's presidential election, the Labor Department said employers added 171,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9 percent. More jobs were added in the previous two months than was first reported, the government said.

European stocks rose on the news and U.S. stocks opened higher. The Dow gained as much as 57 points in the first half-hour of trading. After that, the indexes commenced a steady slide.

All ten categories in the S&P 500 were lower by the end of the day. Consumer discretionary stocks had the narrowest loss.

Internet travel sites priceline.com and TripAdvisor Inc. were among the S&P 500's top gainers. The companies surprised investors with better-than-expected third-quarter earnings after the market closed on Thursday. TripAdvisor rose $5.71, or 19 percent, to $35.12. Priceline added $48.64, or 8 percent, to $634.74.

Starbucks rounded out the S&P 500's top three gainers, adding $4.22, or 9 percent, to $50.84. The ubiquitous coffee vendor said late Thursday that global revenue at cafes open at least a year rose 6 percent during its fiscal fourth quarter, which runs from July through September.

Home decor retailer Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. shot up $7.10, or 30 percent, to $31.10 in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

4631

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

On the day before the U.S. presidential election, stock indexes managed slight gains in thin trading.

After wavering between small gains and losses, the Dow Jones industrial average ended with a gain of 19.28 points to start the week, closing at 13,112.44 on Monday.

Uncertainty surrounding the election will prevent most investors from making any big moves before it's over, said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at the brokerage Charles Schwab.

National polls show President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney locked in a tight race. The two candidates are spending the final days of the campaign holding rallies in Ohio and other states considered crucial to winning the White House.

"I honestly think the markets are going to sit here and mark time," Frederick said. "The markets have a tendency to trade sideways before big news events, and nothing is bigger than a presidential election."

Frederick said he believes that no matter who wins, the stock market will likely surge once it's over for the sole reason that investors will know the name of the next president.

But that's assuming there's a winner by Wednesday. If the election comes down to a thin margin in a swing state, the outcome could be delayed for days.

In other Monday trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.06 points to 1,417.26, while the Nasdaq composite index climbed 17 points to 2,999.66. Just 2.9 billion shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, well below the recent average.

Apple rose $7.82 to $584.62. The company said it sold 3 million iPads in the three days after launching a smaller version, the Mini. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said the iPad Mini is "practically sold out."

In the market for U.S. government debt, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.68 percent, down from 1.72 percent late Friday.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER ▲ 19.28 points or ▲ 0.15% Monday, 5 November 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,112.44 ▲ 19.28 ▲ 0.15%
Nasdaq____ 2,999.66 ▲ 17.53 ▲ 0.59%
S&P_500____ 1,417.26 ▲ 3.06 ▲ 0.22%
30_Yr_Bond____ 2.871 ▼ -0.05 ▼ -1.58%

NYSE Volume 2,898,911,750
Nasdaq Volume 1,496,501,750

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,839.06 ▼ -29.49 ▼ -0.50%
DAX_____ 7,326.47 ▼ -37.38 ▼ -0.51%
CAC_40__ 3,448.50 ▼ -43.96 ▼ -1.26%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,493.60 ▲ 10.30 ▲ 0.23%
Shanghai_Comp 2,114.03 ▼ -3.02 ▼ -0.14%
Taiwan_Weight 7,185.36 ▼ -25.11 ▼ -0.35%
Nikkei_225____ 9,007.44 ▼ -43.78 ▼ -0.48%
Hang_Seng____ 22,006.40 ▲ 53.93 ▼ -0.47%
Strait_Times___ 3,032.70 ▼ -8.05 ▼ -0.26%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,908.26 ▼ -5.81 ▼ -0.15%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-edges-day-ahead-213323947.html

Stock market edges up a day ahead of election

Stock indexes manage slight gains as investors await US election


By Matthew Craft, AP Business Writer

On the day before the U.S. presidential election, stock indexes managed slight gains in thin trading.

After wavering between small gains and losses, the Dow Jones industrial average ended with a gain of 19.28 points to start the week, closing at 13,112.44 on Monday.

Uncertainty surrounding the election will prevent most investors from making any big moves before it's over, said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at the brokerage Charles Schwab.

National polls show President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney locked in a tight race. The two candidates are spending the final days of the campaign holding rallies in Ohio and other states considered crucial to winning the White House.

"I honestly think the markets are going to sit here and mark time," Frederick said. "The markets have a tendency to trade sideways before big news events, and nothing is bigger than a presidential election."

Frederick said he believes that no matter who wins, the stock market will likely surge once it's over for the sole reason that investors will know the name of the next president.

But that's assuming there's a winner by Wednesday. If the election comes down to a thin margin in a swing state, the outcome could be delayed for days.

In other Monday trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.06 points to 1,417.26, while the Nasdaq composite index climbed 17 points to 2,999.66. Just 2.9 billion shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, well below the recent average.

Apple rose $7.82 to $584.62. The company said it sold 3 million iPads in the three days after launching a smaller version, the Mini. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said the iPad Mini is "practically sold out."

In the market for U.S. government debt, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.68 percent, down from 1.72 percent late Friday.

There was only one major economic report, a measure of activity among so-called service companies, which employ about 90 percent of the American workforce. The Institute for Supply Management's service-sector index showed growth in October, but at a slower pace than in September, and just short of what economists expected.

In Europe, renewed focus on Greece's economic problems combined with uncertainty over the U.S. election to push markets lower. Germany's benchmark index, the DAX, dropped 0.5 percent, and the CAC-40 in France fell 1.3 percent.

"With the race so close, investors are understandably risk-averse today," said James Hughes, chief market analyst at Alpari, a London brokerage.

Among stocks making big moves:

”” Tesla Motors jumped 9 percent after the maker of rechargable electric cars said it was now producing enough of its Model S cars to generate positive cash flow. Tesla, the brainchild of PayPal billionaire and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, now has two all-electric models on the market, the $109,000 Roadster and the new Model S. The company's stock gained $2.58 to $31.50.

”” Stifel Financial said it reached an agreement to buy the investment bank KBW in a $575 million deal. The boards of both companies have already signed off, but shareholders of KBW and regulators must follow suit. KBW's stock leapt $1.17 to $17.47.

”” Time Warner Cable lost 6 percent, the biggest drop of any company in the S&P 500. The country's second-largest cable company posted earnings Monday morning that fell short of analysts' predictions. Time Warner reported stronger revenue across most of its businesses but lost 140,000 cable TV subscribers in three months. The company's stock fell $6.24 to $91.93.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Major stock-market indexes climbed Tuesday as investors waited for the finish of a closely fought U.S. presidential election.

"We're on pins and needles," said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investors, a money management firm. Orlando, who backs Republican Mitt Romney, said he thought the stock-market's gains reflected optimism that Romney could win.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 133.24 points to close at 13,245.68.

Companies that investors believe would benefit under a potential Romney administration surged ahead. They included United Technologies and Boeing, which do substantial business with the Defense Department.

Four financial companies ”” Travelers, American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America ”” ranked among the 10 biggest gainers in the 30-stock Dow average.

Other investors say that they simply want the election behind them. That will allow Wall Street and Congress to shift their attention to the so-called fiscal cliff, a package of tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.

In other trading Tuesday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.13 points to 1,428.39, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 12.27 points to 3,011.93.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER ▲ 133.24 points or ▲ 1.02% Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 13,245.68 ▲ 133.24 ▲ 1.02%
Nasdaq____ 3,011.93 ▲ 12.27 ▲ 0.41%
S&P_500____ 1,428.39 ▲ 11.13 ▲ 0.79%
30_Yr_Bond____ 2.916 ▲ 0.05 ▲ 1.57%

NYSE Volume 3,262,372,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,777,828,120

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,884.90 ▲ 45.84 ▲ 0.79%
DAX_____ 7,377.76 ▲ 51.29 ▲ 0.70%
CAC_40__ 3,478.66 ▲ 30.16 ▲ 0.87%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,503.70 ▲ 10.10 ▲ 0.22%
Shanghai_Comp 2,106.00 ▼ -8.03 ▼ -0.38%
Taiwan_Weight 7,236.68 ▲ 51.32 ▲ 0.71%
Nikkei_225____ 8,975.15 ▼ -32.29 ▼ -0.36%
Hang_Seng____ 21,944.43 ▲ 53.93 ▼ -0.28%
Strait_Times___ 3,019.33 ▼ -12.36 ▼ -0.41%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,927.67 ▲ 19.41 ▲ 0.50%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-rise-investors-wait-winner-145959084.html

Stocks rise as investors wait for a winner

Stocks climb on Wall Street; investors wait for outcome of presidential election

By Matthew Craft, AP Business Writer

Major stock-market indexes climbed Tuesday as investors waited for the finish of a closely fought U.S. presidential election.

"We're on pins and needles," said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investors, a money management firm. Orlando, who backs Republican Mitt Romney, said he thought the stock-market's gains reflected optimism that Romney could win.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 133.24 points to close at 13,245.68.

Companies that investors believe would benefit under a potential Romney administration surged ahead. They included United Technologies and Boeing, which do substantial business with the Defense Department.

Four financial companies ”” Travelers, American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America ”” ranked among the 10 biggest gainers in the 30-stock Dow average.

Other investors say that they simply want the election behind them. That will allow Wall Street and Congress to shift their attention to the so-called fiscal cliff, a package of tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.

In other trading Tuesday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.13 points to 1,428.39, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 12.27 points to 3,011.93.

The price of crude oil jumped $3 to $88.71 in New York as reports suggested that Superstorm Sandy caused a drop in gasoline supplies. That also helped lift stocks in petroleum refiners. Tesoro Corp and Phillips 66 each rose 5 percent.

In the market for government bonds, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.75 percent. That's up from 1.68 percent late Monday.

Even with the surge Tuesday, it remained a quieter Election Day for the stock market than last time.

During the financial meltdown four years ago, big swings in the market became commonplace. On Nov. 4, 2008, the Dow shot up 305 points, easily the biggest Election Day rally of all time. Investors expected a victory for Barack Obama.

On Election Day 2004, the prospect of a close election led to a late sell-off, and the Dow finished down 18 points, snapping a five-day winning streak. John Kerry didn't concede to George W. Bush until the following day.

Among other stocks making big moves Tuesday:

”” Weight-loss company Medifast rose $2.29 to $29.11 after reporting that its quarterly earnings increased more than 40 percent as expenses fell.

”” Express Scripts sank $7.73 to $55.15. The pharmacy benefits manager warned that persistently high unemployment and economic uncertainty would hurt its business next year.

”” NYSE Euronext fell $1.34 to $24.27. The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange reported Tuesday that its quarterly earnings fell by nearly half. A drop in the number of transactions it handles pulled down revenue.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Wall Street greeted a second Obama term the way it greeted the first.

Investors dumped stocks Wednesday in the sharpest sell-off of the year. With the election only hours behind them, they focused on big problems ahead in Washington and across the Atlantic Ocean.

Frantic selling recalled the days after Obama's first victory, as the financial crisis raged and stocks spiraled downward.

Four years later, American voters returned a divided government to power and left investors fretting about a package of tax increases and government spending cuts that could stall the economic recovery unless Congress acts to stop it by Jan. 1.

In Europe, leaders warned that unemployment could remain high for years, and cut their forecasts for economic growth for this year and 2013. The head of the European Central Bank said not even powerhouse Germany is immune.

The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted as much as 369 points, or 2.8 percent, in the first two hours of trading. It recovered steadily in the afternoon, but slid into the close and ended down 313, its biggest point drop since this time last year.

"It does look ugly," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC. He said it was hard to untangle the impact of Europe-related selling from nerves about the nation's fiscal uncertainty.

"It's a combination of all that, quite honestly," Pavlik said.

It was the worst day for stocks this year, but not the worst after an election. That distinction belongs to 2008, when Barack Obama was elected at the depths of the financial crisis. The Dow fell 486 points the next day.

This time, energy companies and bank stocks took some of the biggest losses. Both industries would have faced lighter, less costly regulation if Mitt Romney had won the election.

Stocks seen as benefiting from Obama's decisive re-election rose. They included hospitals, suddenly free of the threat that Romney would roll back Obama's health care law.

Obama was elected Nov. 4, 2008.

The Dow plunged more than 400 points on each of the next two trading days.

The blue-chip average hit bottom at 6,547 in March 2009, less than two months after Obama took office.

Then it doubled over the next three-plus years as the crisis eased and a fragile economic recovery took root.

Things were looking so good that until recently, some analysts were betting on when the market might hit an all-time high.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER ▼ -312.95 points or ▼ -2.36% Wednesday, 7 November 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 12,932.73 ▼ -312.95 ▼ -2.36%
Nasdaq____ 2,937.29 ▼ -74.64 ▼ -2.48%
S&P_500____ 1,394.53 ▼ -33.86 ▼ -2.37%
30_Yr_Bond____ 2.821 ▼ -0.10 ▼ -3.26%

NYSE Volume 4,322,125,500
Nasdaq Volume 2,059,028,750

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,791.63 ▼ -93.27 ▼ -1.58%
DAX_____ 7,232.83 ▼ -144.93 ▼ -1.96%
CAC_40__ 3,409.59 ▼ -69.07 ▼ -1.99%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,534.20 ▲ 30.50 ▲ 0.68%
Shanghai_Comp 2,105.73 ▼ -0.27 ▼ -0.01%
Taiwan_Weight 7,287.18 ▲ 50.50 ▲ 0.70%
Nikkei_225____ 8,972.89 ▼ -2.26 ▼ -0.03%
Hang_Seng____ 22,099.85 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.71%
Strait_Times___ 3,043.16 ▲ 23.83 ▲ 0.79%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,943.10 ▲ 15.42 ▲ 0.39%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dow-loses-313-post-election-214435706.html

Dow loses 313 in post-election sell-off

Dow falls 313 in second straight post-election sell-off; energy companies and banks hard-hit

By Daniel Wagner, AP Business Writer

Wall Street greeted a second Obama term the way it greeted the first.

Investors dumped stocks Wednesday in the sharpest sell-off of the year. With the election only hours behind them, they focused on big problems ahead in Washington and across the Atlantic Ocean.

Frantic selling recalled the days after Obama's first victory, as the financial crisis raged and stocks spiraled downward.

Four years later, American voters returned a divided government to power and left investors fretting about a package of tax increases and government spending cuts that could stall the economic recovery unless Congress acts to stop it by Jan. 1.

In Europe, leaders warned that unemployment could remain high for years, and cut their forecasts for economic growth for this year and 2013. The head of the European Central Bank said not even powerhouse Germany is immune.

The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted as much as 369 points, or 2.8 percent, in the first two hours of trading. It recovered steadily in the afternoon, but slid into the close and ended down 313, its biggest point drop since this time last year.

"It does look ugly," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC. He said it was hard to untangle the impact of Europe-related selling from nerves about the nation's fiscal uncertainty.

"It's a combination of all that, quite honestly," Pavlik said.

It was the worst day for stocks this year, but not the worst after an election. That distinction belongs to 2008, when Barack Obama was elected at the depths of the financial crisis. The Dow fell 486 points the next day.

This time, energy companies and bank stocks took some of the biggest losses. Both industries would have faced lighter, less costly regulation if Mitt Romney had won the election.

Stocks seen as benefiting from Obama's decisive re-election rose. They included hospitals, suddenly free of the threat that Romney would roll back Obama's health care law.

Obama was elected Nov. 4, 2008.

The Dow plunged more than 400 points on each of the next two trading days.

The blue-chip average hit bottom at 6,547 in March 2009, less than two months after Obama took office.

Then it doubled over the next three-plus years as the crisis eased and a fragile economic recovery took root.

Things were looking so good that until recently, some analysts were betting on when the market might hit an all-time high.

Of course, the market today is far less precarious than it was in 2008. The financial system has stabilized. Europe appears to be serious about tackling its debt crisis, despite frequent setbacks.

The housing market appears to be coming back, and the economy has added jobs for more than two and a half years.

On the day after the 28 other presidential elections since 1900, the stock market has gone up 13 times and down 15 times, according to research by Bespoke Investment Group, a market research company.

The best day-after performance was in 1900, another re-election. The Dow jumped more than 3 percent on the day after William McKinley won a second term, according to Bespoke.

With the 2012 election over, traders turned to Europe's increasingly sickly economy, dragged down by a debt crisis for more than three years. The 27-country European Union said unemployment there could remain high for years.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said that it expects the region's economic output to shrink 0.3 percent this year. In the spring, the group predicted no change.

For next year, the commission predicted 0.4 percent growth, barely above recession territory. It predicted 1.3 percent last spring.

Renewed focus on European economic problems also pushed the price of oil down $4.27 per barrel, its biggest decline of the year, to finish at $84.44, the lowest since July 10.

The Dow closed down 312.95 points, or 2.4 percent, at 12,932.73 ”” its first close below 13,000 since Aug. 2.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 33.86 points, or 2.4 percent, to 1,394. That was the broader index's first close below 1,400 since Aug. 30.

The Nasdaq composite index lost 74.64 points, or 2.5 percent, to 2.937.29.

U.S. stock futures had risen overnight after Obama cruised to victory. They turned sharply lower after the European forecasts and discouraging comments from Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank.

Now that the U.S. election has been resolved, it's natural for traders to focus on Europe's problems, said Peter Tchir, who manages the hedge fund TF Market Advisors.

What they're tuning in to, he said, is the failure of a major European summit last week and minimal progress on the issues that are holding the region back.

"People can only digest one or two stories at a time, and people had put Europe on the back burner" before the election, he said.

Obama's win followed a costly campaign that blanketed markets with uncertainty about possible changes to tax rates, government spending and other issues seen as crucial to the prospects of some industries and the broader economy.

As jitters about the election subsided, traders confronted an ugly reality: The so-called fiscal cliff, which will impose automatic tax increases and deep cuts to government spending at the end of the year unless the president and Congress reach a deal.

That's no easy task for a deadlocked government whose overall composition has barely changed ”” a Democratic president and Senate and a Republican House.

If Congress and the White House don't reach a deal, the spending cuts and tax increases could total $800 billion next year. Some economists say that could push the economy back into recession.

"Obama's re-election does not change the bigger economic or fiscal picture," Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics, an economic research company, said in a note to clients.

Fitch Ratings offered a warning Wednesday about the perils facing the U.S. If Obama does not quickly forge agreement with Congress to avert the fiscal cliff, the credit rating agency said, it may strip the U.S. of its sterling AAA credit rating.

The government's failure to come up with a plan to reduce the deficit led Standard & Poor's to cut its rating of long-term U.S. Treasury securities last year from a sterling AAA to AA+. It was the first-ever downgrade of U.S. government debt.

Tobias Levkovich, a financial analyst at Citi Research, told clients Wednesday that a compromise on taxes and spending was likely in mid- to late January, but that stocks will probably fall in the meantime.

A deal early next year is much more likely "once the political class begins to negotiate realistically and as the consequences ... are too costly for either party to ignore," he wrote.

European markets closed sharply lower, with benchmark indexes in France and Germany losing 2 percent. Italy lost 2.5 percent; Spain lost 2.3 percent.

As traders streamed into lower-risk investments, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note plunged to 1.64 percent from 1.75 percent late Tuesday. A bond's yield declines as demand for it increases.

Most industries reacted to the election much as analysts had expected.

Big, publicly traded hospital companies soared because of expectations that they will gain business under the health care law, known as ObamaCare. HCA Holdings leapt 9.4 percent, Tenet Healthcare 9.6 percent, Community Health Systems 6 percent and Universal Health Services 4.3 percent.

Not all hospital companies are expected to benefit. Many serve patients who will be covered by Medicaid plans that generally do not cover the full cost of care provided by hospitals.

Health insurance stocks sank, defying many analysts' expectations. ObamaCare will expand coverage of the uninsured in 2014, giving insurers millions of new customers. But the overhaul also imposes fees and restrictions on the companies, potentially threatening their profitability. Humana slid 7.9 percent, UnitedHealth Group 3.8 percent, Aetna 4.2 percent and Wellpoint 5.5 percent.

With Obama seeking to restrain the growth of military spending, defense companies could struggle to win government contracts. Their stocks fell sharply: Lockheed Martin lost 3.9 percent, Northrop Grumman 4.6 percent and General Dynamics 3.9 percent.

Among the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 index, financial stocks and energy companies fell the most.

Banks figure to face tougher regulation in a second Obama term than they would have under Romney. JPMorgan Chase fell 5.6 percent, Citigroup 6.3 percent, Bank of America 7.1 percent, Goldman Sachs 6.6 percent and Morgan Stanley 8.6 percent.

The biggest losers were coal companies, which had hoped that a Romney administration would loosen mine safety and pollution rules that make it more costly for them to operate. Peabody Energy dived 9.6 percent, Consol Energy 6.1 percent, Alpha Natural Resources 12.2 percent and Arch Coal 12.5 percent.

Oil companies fell less steeply.

Trading also reflected the outcome of ballot measures decided in Tuesday's election. After two states approved the recreational use of marijuana for the first time, Medical Marijuana Inc., a company too small to be listed on major exchanges, surged 22 percent.

Other notable moves included Apple, the world's most valuable company. It fell 3.8 percent to $558.00 and has dropped 20 percent from its all-time high of $705.07, reached Sept. 21.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Stocks slid on Wall Street Thursday, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average logged its biggest one-day drop of the year, as investors fretted about the potential for gridlock in Washington.

The Dow closed down 121.41 points to 12,811.32, bringing its two-day loss to 434 points. The Standard and Poor's 500 index fell 17.02 points to 1,377.51 and the Nasdaq composite slipped 41.71 to 2,895.58.

The Dow plunged 313 points Wednesday, its fifth worst one-day drop following a U.S. presidential election. The biggest, in 2008, came in the midst of the financial crisis on the day after President Barack Obama won his first term.

The two-day slump came in the wake of Obama's re-election to a second term as investors turned their focus back to Europe's problems and the so-called fiscal cliff, a package of tax increases and government spending cuts in the U.S. that will occur unless Congress acts by Jan. 1. Investors see it as a serious threat to the economic recovery.

"The thinking before the election was that it would remove some of the uncertainty, but it seems to have done the opposite," said Tyler Vernon, chief investment officer at Biltmore Capital Advisors in Princeton, N.J.

Stocks are still up on the year, but well below the peak they reached in September. That was when the Federal Reserve announced a third round of its bond-buying program, which is intended to hold down borrowing costs and encourage lending.

The S&P 500 is 6 percent below its high close of the year, 1,465, which it reached on Sept. 14. That was its highest level in nearly five years. It's still up 10 percent for the year.

Investors may be tempted to sell appreciated stock before a possible increase in the capital gains tax at the end of the year, Vernon said. Tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush expire at the end of this year and the U.S. government wants to cut a $1 trillion budget deficit.

"The mood of the market has certainly switched," said J.J. Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade, as investors monitor developments on the fiscal cliff and wait for more clues about Obama's agenda.

Investors were encouraged by two reports on the U.S. economy that came out before the market opened. The Dow climbed as much as 48 points in the morning but started to sink after the first hour of trading.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER ▼ -121.41 points or ▼ -0.94% Thursday, 8 November 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 12,811.32 ▼ -121.41 ▼ -0.94%
Nasdaq____ 2,895.58 ▼ -41.71 ▼ -1.42%
S&P_500____ 1,377.51 ▼ -17.02 ▼ -1.22%
30_Yr_Bond____ 2.769 ▼ -0.05 ▼ -1.84%

NYSE Volume 3,759,670,750
Nasdaq Volume 1,876,114,250

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,776.05 ▼ -15.58 ▼ -0.27%
DAX_____ 7,204.96 ▼ -27.87 ▼ -0.39%
CAC_40__ 3,407.68 ▼ -1.91 ▼ -0.06%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,502.20 ▼ -32.00 ▼ -0.71%
Shanghai_Comp 2,071.51 ▼ -34.22 ▼ -1.63%
Taiwan_Weight 7,242.63 ▼ -44.55 ▼ -0.61%
Nikkei_225____ 8,837.15 ▼ -135.74 ▼ -1.51%
Hang_Seng____ 21,566.91 ▲ 53.93 ▼ -2.41%
Strait_Times___ 3,012.25 ▼ -31.02 ▼ -1.02%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,955.25 ▲ 12.15 ▲ 0.31%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-slide-wall-street-extending-180001035.html


Stocks slide on Wall Street, extending sell-off

Stocks slide on Wall Street, extending sell-off from the day before, as gridlock fears return

By Steve Rothwell, AP Business Writer

Stocks slid on Wall Street Thursday, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average logged its biggest one-day drop of the year, as investors fretted about the potential for gridlock in Washington.

The Dow closed down 121.41 points to 12,811.32, bringing its two-day loss to 434 points. The Standard and Poor's 500 index fell 17.02 points to 1,377.51 and the Nasdaq composite slipped 41.71 to 2,895.58.

The Dow plunged 313 points Wednesday, its fifth worst one-day drop following a U.S. presidential election. The biggest, in 2008, came in the midst of the financial crisis on the day after President Barack Obama won his first term.

The two-day slump came in the wake of Obama's re-election to a second term as investors turned their focus back to Europe's problems and the so-called fiscal cliff, a package of tax increases and government spending cuts in the U.S. that will occur unless Congress acts by Jan. 1. Investors see it as a serious threat to the economic recovery.

"The thinking before the election was that it would remove some of the uncertainty, but it seems to have done the opposite," said Tyler Vernon, chief investment officer at Biltmore Capital Advisors in Princeton, N.J.

Stocks are still up on the year, but well below the peak they reached in September. That was when the Federal Reserve announced a third round of its bond-buying program, which is intended to hold down borrowing costs and encourage lending.

The S&P 500 is 6 percent below its high close of the year, 1,465, which it reached on Sept. 14. That was its highest level in nearly five years. It's still up 10 percent for the year.

Investors may be tempted to sell appreciated stock before a possible increase in the capital gains tax at the end of the year, Vernon said. Tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush expire at the end of this year and the U.S. government wants to cut a $1 trillion budget deficit.

"The mood of the market has certainly switched," said J.J. Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade, as investors monitor developments on the fiscal cliff and wait for more clues about Obama's agenda.

Investors were encouraged by two reports on the U.S. economy that came out before the market opened. The Dow climbed as much as 48 points in the morning but started to sink after the first hour of trading.

The Labor Department reported that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell 8,000 last week to 355,000, a possible sign that the job market is healing. Officials cautioned that the figures were distorted by Superstorm Sandy.

A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to its lowest level in almost two years as exports rose to a record high.

There was also encouraging news from Europe, where leaders shocked markets a day earlier with a dire forecast for economic growth next year.

European Central Bank head Mario Draghi said financial market confidence "has visibly improved" as the 17-country group that uses the euro struggles with its debt crisis. But he said the outlook for the economy remains "weak." Draghi spoke after the bank's governing council left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.75 percent.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, on Wednesday slashed its outlook for growth for this year and 2013. The report helped set off a sharp decline in stocks in the U.S and Europe.

Spain's government said that it had met its financing needs for the year after raising the equivalent of $6.07 billion in a series of bond auctions on Thursday. Spain became the focal point of the European debt crisis earlier this year amid concern that it would struggle to refinance its debt at affordable rates.

Among stocks making big moves:

”” Energy drink maker Monster Beverage sank 57 cents to $44.40 after the company said its revenue growth slowed in the third quarter.

”” Dean Foods rose 32 cents to $16.40 after the company reported a third quarter profit of $36 million for the third quarter, compared with a $1.5 billion loss in the same period a year earlier.

”” Burger chain Wendy's rose 13 cents to $4.39 after the company said that a key sales figure rose. Revenue at restaurants open at least 15 months rose 2.7 percent, the sixth straight quarter of growth.

”” CBS rose 36 cents to $34.36 after the company said that earnings rose 16 percent as falling ad revenue was offset by higher fees from pay TV distributors.

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

Wall Street is peering over the "fiscal cliff" and feeling vertigo.

The stock market finished one of the worst weeks of the year Friday, pushing Washington to work out a deal to avoid the tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect Jan. 1.

Remarks by re-elected President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner on the looming deadline didn't do much to cheer the market. Stocks finished barely higher for the day.

Chris Bertelsen, the chief investment officer at Global Financial Private Capital of Sarasota, Fla., said he expects Congress and Obama to reach a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff.

"But it could well be the conventional U.S. political way of doing it ”” the last minute type of stuff ”” in which case the markets will be haunted by it until the point it happens," he said.

For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 277 points, or 2.1 percent. The Dow has fallen 795 points since hitting its closing high for the year, 13,610 on Oct. 5.

The S&P fell 2.3 percent during the week, its worst weekly decline since June 1, when investor concern about the debt crisis in Europe was rising.

Stocks began their slide Wednesday in the biggest sell-off of the year after voters returned Obama, a Democratic Senate and a Republican House to power. Investors immediately turned to worrying about the cliff.

If the tax increases and spending cuts take full effect, the U.S. will likely fall back into recession, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday.

Boehner said Friday that he remains unwilling to raise tax rates on upper-income earners. But he left open the possibility of balancing spending cuts with revenue increases that come from some revisions to the tax code.

Stocks managed a small rally. The Dow was up about 30 points when Boehner started talking and about 80 points shortly after.

Then Obama said he would not accept any approach to federal deficit reduction that doesn't ask the wealthy to pay more in taxes. A spokesman later said Obama would veto legislation extending tax cuts for families making $250,000 or more.

The Dow began sliding just before Obama spoke, at 1 p.m., and had lost its gain for the day by 1:30.

As they head into talks with Obama next week on the fiscal cliff, congressional leaders no doubt remember what can happen on Wall Street when investors are worried and watching Washington's every move.

In September 2008, at the depths of the financial crisis, the House defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue of the nation's financial system, sending the Dow plunging 777 points.

The Dow also slid for eight straight days in the summer of 2011 as politicians squabbled over a deal to raise the nation's federal borrowing limit before eventually reaching an accord Aug. 1.

The index slipped as much as 634 points between July 27 as the political bickering intensified and Aug. 5, when S&P downgraded the national credit rating, citing the weakening of U.S. political institutions as a reason for the cut.

On Friday, stocks pared losses as investors took encouragement about the economy from a report by the University of Michigan showing that consumer confidence rose more than expected in November.

The Dow finished up 4.07 points at 12,815.39. The S&P advanced 2.34 points to 1,379.85, and the Nasdaq composite gained 9.29 points to 9,204.87.

Stocks are well below the highs of this year. The S&P is down 5.5 percent from its peak of 1,465 in September, when the Federal Reserve announced a third round of a bond-buying program intended to hold down borrowing costs.

The dimming outlook for Europe also weighed on markets this week. The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, cut its forecast for economic growth in the region Wednesday.

The NYSE DOW closed HIGHER ▲ 4.07 points or ▲ 0.03% Friday, 9 November 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 12,815.39 ▲ 4.07 ▲ 0.03%
Nasdaq____ 2,904.87 ▲ 9.29 ▲ 0.32%
S&P_500____ 1,379.85 ▲ 2.34 ▲ 0.17%
30_Yr_Bond____ 2.752 ▼ -0.02 ▼ -0.61%

NYSE Volume 3,572,545,750
Nasdaq Volume 1,802,938,000

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,769.68 ▼ -6.37 ▼ -0.11%
DAX_____ 7,163.50 ▼ -41.46 ▼ -0.58%
CAC_40__ 3,423.57 ▲ 15.89 ▲ 0.47%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,482.50 ▼ -19.70 ▼ -0.44%
Shanghai_Comp 2,069.07 ▼ -2.44 ▼ -0.12%
Taiwan_Weight 7,293.22 ▲ 50.59 ▲ 0.70%
Nikkei_225____ 8,757.60 ▼ -79.55 ▼ -0.90%
Hang_Seng____ 21,384.38 ▲ 53.93 ▼ -0.85%
Strait_Times___ 3,009.56 ▼ -2.69 ▼ -0.09%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,957.92 ▲ 2.67 ▲ 0.07%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/feari...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

Fearing 'cliff,' investors finish brutal week

One of the worst weeks of the year on Wall Street as investors fret about 'fiscal cliff'

By Steve Rothwell, AP Business Writer

Wall Street is peering over the "fiscal cliff" and feeling vertigo.

The stock market finished one of the worst weeks of the year Friday, pushing Washington to work out a deal to avoid the tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect Jan. 1.

Remarks by re-elected President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner on the looming deadline didn't do much to cheer the market. Stocks finished barely higher for the day.

Chris Bertelsen, the chief investment officer at Global Financial Private Capital of Sarasota, Fla., said he expects Congress and Obama to reach a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff.

"But it could well be the conventional U.S. political way of doing it ”” the last minute type of stuff ”” in which case the markets will be haunted by it until the point it happens," he said.

For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 277 points, or 2.1 percent. The Dow has fallen 795 points since hitting its closing high for the year, 13,610 on Oct. 5.

The S&P fell 2.3 percent during the week, its worst weekly decline since June 1, when investor concern about the debt crisis in Europe was rising.

Stocks began their slide Wednesday in the biggest sell-off of the year after voters returned Obama, a Democratic Senate and a Republican House to power. Investors immediately turned to worrying about the cliff.

If the tax increases and spending cuts take full effect, the U.S. will likely fall back into recession, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday.

Boehner said Friday that he remains unwilling to raise tax rates on upper-income earners. But he left open the possibility of balancing spending cuts with revenue increases that come from some revisions to the tax code.

Stocks managed a small rally. The Dow was up about 30 points when Boehner started talking and about 80 points shortly after.

Then Obama said he would not accept any approach to federal deficit reduction that doesn't ask the wealthy to pay more in taxes. A spokesman later said Obama would veto legislation extending tax cuts for families making $250,000 or more.

The Dow began sliding just before Obama spoke, at 1 p.m., and had lost its gain for the day by 1:30.

As they head into talks with Obama next week on the fiscal cliff, congressional leaders no doubt remember what can happen on Wall Street when investors are worried and watching Washington's every move.

In September 2008, at the depths of the financial crisis, the House defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue of the nation's financial system, sending the Dow plunging 777 points.

The Dow also slid for eight straight days in the summer of 2011 as politicians squabbled over a deal to raise the nation's federal borrowing limit before eventually reaching an accord Aug. 1.

The index slipped as much as 634 points between July 27 as the political bickering intensified and Aug. 5, when S&P downgraded the national credit rating, citing the weakening of U.S. political institutions as a reason for the cut.

On Friday, stocks pared losses as investors took encouragement about the economy from a report by the University of Michigan showing that consumer confidence rose more than expected in November.

The Dow finished up 4.07 points at 12,815.39. The S&P advanced 2.34 points to 1,379.85, and the Nasdaq composite gained 9.29 points to 9,204.87.

Stocks are well below the highs of this year. The S&P is down 5.5 percent from its peak of 1,465 in September, when the Federal Reserve announced a third round of a bond-buying program intended to hold down borrowing costs.

The dimming outlook for Europe also weighed on markets this week. The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, cut its forecast for economic growth in the region Wednesday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was little changed at 1.62 percent compared with 1.61 percent late Thursday. The yield on the benchmark government security has tumbled from as much as 1.84 percent Sept. 17, as investor aversion to risk has grown. Treasury yields fall as investor demand pushes up prices.

Among other stocks making big moves:

”” Walt Disney fell $2.98, or 6 percent, to $47.06 after it said that advertising sales were flat at its ESPN unit, raising concern about the outlook for growth.

”” Online deals company Groupon slumped $1.16, almost 30 percent, to $2.76 after it disclosed late Thursday that it was hurt by the economic problems in Europe and growth failed to meet expectations.

”” J.C. Penney dropped $1.05 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $20.64 after the company reported a loss that was larger than investors were expecting. Shoppers have been abandoning the store after it got rid of blockbuster sales in favor of everyday low prices.

”” Kayak Software surged $8.63, or 28 percent, to $39.67 after the company said it had agreed to be bought by rival travel website Priceline.com.

5406

 

[bigdog]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com

U.S. stocks closed nearly unchanged Monday, after a day of uneven trading plagued by investors' fears about the approaching "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 0.23 point at 12,815.16. It had spent the day trading gains and losses, never rising more than 46 points or falling more than 32.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 0.15 point to 1,380. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.61 to 2,904.26.

The closing level of the Dow was revised twice after trading closed. The New York Stock Exchange had experienced a trading glitch during the day, forcing it to alter its normal procedure for determining the closing prices of some stocks.

Trading was very light. The federal government and the U.S. bond market were closed for Veterans Day, and no economic reports were released.

The fiscal cliff refers to government spending cuts and tax increases that are scheduled to kick in at the beginning of the new year, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise before then.

Some traders thought the tentative trading action was nearly inevitable because there has been no positive or negative news about the economy or the possibility of a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.

"Nothing good is going on," said Scott Freeze, president of Street One Financial in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. "Everything forward-looking remains dreary."

Last week, after voters returned a long-deadlocked and divided government to Washington, the Dow dropped 434 points in two days and had one of its worst weeks of the year.

Even if lawmakers work out a compromise, as they usually do, the political fight until then is sure keep investors on edge, pitching the stock market back and forth until it's resolved. Economists say the cliff could cost the economy $800 billion and 3 million jobs and would plunge the U.S. back into recession.

President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, have spoken of compromise but appear to be taking firm stances on some issues. Obama will meet with labor representatives as well as other progressive groups Tuesday. He'll hold separate meetings with the business community Wednesday.

The effect on the markets has been widespread. Fiscal cliff worries were blamed for keeping a lid on European markets and Asian markets, which closed mostly lower.

The NYSE DOW closed LOWER ▼ -0.23 points or ▼ 0.00% Monday, 12 November 2012
Symbol …........Last ......Change.....
Dow_Jones 12,815.16 ▼ -0.23 ▲ 0.00%
Nasdaq____ 2,904.26 ▼ -0.61 ▼ -0.02%
S&P_500____ 1,380.00 ▲ 0.15 ▲ 0.01%
30_Yr_Bond____ 2.745 ▼ -0.01 ▼ -0.25%

NYSE Volume 2,519,007,250
Nasdaq Volume 1,379,209,750

Europe
Symbol... .....Last ….....Change.......
FTSE_100 5,767.27 ▼ -2.41 ▼ -0.04%
DAX_____ 7,168.76 ▲ 5.26 ▲ 0.07%
CAC_40__ 3,411.65 ▼ -11.92 ▼ -0.35%

Asia Pacific
Symbol...... ….....Last .....Change…......
ASX_All_Ord__ 4,469.90 ▼ -12.60 ▼ -0.28%
Shanghai_Comp 2,079.27 ▲ 10.21 ▲ 0.49%
Taiwan_Weight 7,267.75 ▼ -25.47 ▼ -0.35%
Nikkei_225____ 8,676.44 ▼ -81.16 ▼ -0.93%
Hang_Seng____ 21,430.30 ▲ 53.93 ▲ 0.21%
Strait_Times___ 3,005.18 ▼ -4.38 ▼ -0.15%
NZX_50_Index__ 3,983.99 ▲ 26.08 ▲ 0.66%

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-st...Rwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

US stocks nearly unchanged as fiscal threat looms

US stocks close mixed after uneven trading; threat looms of tax hikes, gov't spending cuts

By Christina Rexrode, AP Business Writers

U.S. stocks closed nearly unchanged Monday, after a day of uneven trading plagued by investors' fears about the approaching "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 0.23 point at 12,815.16. It had spent the day trading gains and losses, never rising more than 46 points or falling more than 32.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 0.15 point to 1,380. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.61 to 2,904.26.

The closing level of the Dow was revised twice after trading closed. The New York Stock Exchange had experienced a trading glitch during the day, forcing it to alter its normal procedure for determining the closing prices of some stocks.

Trading was very light. The federal government and the U.S. bond market were closed for Veterans Day, and no economic reports were released.

The fiscal cliff refers to government spending cuts and tax increases that are scheduled to kick in at the beginning of the new year, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise before then.

Some traders thought the tentative trading action was nearly inevitable because there has been no positive or negative news about the economy or the possibility of a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.

"Nothing good is going on," said Scott Freeze, president of Street One Financial in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. "Everything forward-looking remains dreary."

Last week, after voters returned a long-deadlocked and divided government to Washington, the Dow dropped 434 points in two days and had one of its worst weeks of the year.

Even if lawmakers work out a compromise, as they usually do, the political fight until then is sure keep investors on edge, pitching the stock market back and forth until it's resolved. Economists say the cliff could cost the economy $800 billion and 3 million jobs and would plunge the U.S. back into recession.

President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, have spoken of compromise but appear to be taking firm stances on some issues. Obama will meet with labor representatives as well as other progressive groups Tuesday. He'll hold separate meetings with the business community Wednesday.

The effect on the markets has been widespread. Fiscal cliff worries were blamed for keeping a lid on European markets and Asian markets, which closed mostly lower.

In Greece, lawmakers passed a new austerity budget, and the country's international lenders drafted a report saying it had made progress in righting its finances. Greece is hoping the other euro countries will give it another $40 billion in bailout loans. The budget and the report are crucial steps toward that goal.

Still, the new bailout isn't a sure thing: Some of the potential lenders must seek approval from their parliaments. Greece's main stock market index closed down 3.6 percent.

Freeze was among the underwhelmed. "At this point, all the Greek news is just noise," he said. "None of these bailouts really solve the underlying problem. Now if all of a sudden Spain became incredibly solvent and its unemployment rate went to 5 percent, then you'd see" a reason to buy.

Across Europe, there were other reminders that the debt crisis is far from solved. The Banking Association of Spain, a country where hundreds of thousands of borrowers have fallen behind on their mortgages, said it would curb evictions of some struggling homeowners. In Portugal, demonstrators planned protests against a scheduled visit from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany helped bail out Portugal last year and insisted that the government there cut spending as a condition of getting the money, a sore point for some in Portugal.

Among U.S. stocks making big moves:

”” Leucadia National announced it would buy the investment banking firm Jefferies Group. Jefferies' chief will run the combined company. Leucadia, a holding company with investments in eclectic industries including beef processing and medical products, dropped 66 cents, or 3 percent, to $21.14. Jefferies soared $2, or 14 percent, to $16.27.

”” Sherwin-Williams, the paint company, jumped 5.8 percent after announcing it will buy Consorcio Comex, a privately held rival based in Mexico City. Its stock rose $8.22 to $149.06.

”” Best Buy leapt after announcing it had named a new finance chief, a former executive of the upscale kitchen store Williams-Sonoma. Analysts hope the new numbers cruncher can help turn around a chain that has struggled to keep up with online competitors. Best Buy's stock rose 55 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $15.85.