The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week with a decline of 100.1 points.
News that some Greek banks may need emergency funds continued to feed investor fears.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 33.45 points to 12,598, the NASDAQ closed down 19.72 points to 2,874 and the S&P 500 closed down 5.86 points to 1,324.
The Davidson 99, which measures stocks in seven western states, including 19 in Oregon, closed down 0.78 points to 171.63.
Regional stocks closing lower include FEI Corp. (NASDAQ: FEIC), which closed down 2.96 percent to $44.66, the Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX), which closed down 2.11 percent to $13.92, and Schnitzer Steel (NASDAQ: SCHN), which closed down 1.98 percent to $32.69.
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Stocks, rupee plunge; unpopular austerity measures on anvil - in.com
Mumbai, May 16 (PTI) Grim economic scenario reverberated today in the financial markets which plunged into turmoil with the Sensex falling below the psychological 16,000 level as rupee also touched a record low on a day Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee warned of "unpopular austerity" measures. Investors had little to cheer today as they lost Rs 77,000 crore with the Sensex taking a hit of 298.16 points or 1.83 per cent. Across the market, over 1700 stocks declined. The sentiment was also impacted by the global equities diving on deepening Eurozone crisis that drove investors to shift capital away from riskier assets. No counter could escape the investor wrath as selling was across-the-board with all BSE sectoral indices closing with losses. Among the 30 Sensex stocks, 28 counters logged losses. Among Sensex stocks, Tata Motors was the biggest loser dropping 7.34 per cent on a 29 per cent drop in April vehicle sales of JLR. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, the rupee opened sharply lower at 54.06 and mostly remained bearish. Intra-day it plunged to all time low of 54.56, surpassing the previous all-time low of 54.30 recorded in December last year. It finally closed at 54.50. A depreciating rupee raises import costs, thereby pushing up prices of important items in the economy. The domestic currency has been under pressure from a slew of factors such as concerns over a record trade deficit, which widened to over 10.9 per cent of gross domestic product in the last fiscal, and signals of deteriorating economic fundamentals. Worried over the deteriorating global economic situation and its impact on India, Mukherjee announced that the government would resort to "unpopular" austerity measures to deal with fiscal problems but made it clear there is no need for pressing the "panic button". (MORE) PTI TEAM PTI VSC
4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Celgene - Daily Finance
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, biopharmaceutical company Celgene (NAS: CELG) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Celgene's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Celgene facts
Headquarters (founded) | Summit, N.J. (1980) |
Market Cap | $31.4 billion |
Industry | Biotechnology |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $5.0 billion |
Management | Chairman/CEO Robert Hugin CFO Jacqualyn Fouse |
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) | 20.4% |
Cash/Debt | $2.3 billion / $1.4 billion |
Competitors | Eisai Johnson & Johnson Takeda |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 96% of the 1,535 members who have rated Celgene believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.
A couple of months ago, one of those Fools, ravens9111, tapped the stock as a solid way to get into the space:
My favorite biotech stock. Although there may be better [speculative] plays out there, [Celgene] is already established with high earnings growth and a compelling valuation. This company has many drugs in the pipeline to continue its growth for the future.
If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future. Of course, despite a strong four-star rating, Celgene may not be your top choice.
We've found another stock we are incredibly excited about -- excited enough to dub it "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012." We have compiled a special free report for investors to uncover this stock today. The report is 100% free, but it won't be here forever, so click here to access it now.
Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the new TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.
US Stocks Pare Gains As Worries Over Greece Weigh - NASDAQ
--US stocks trade nearly flat, having pared gains as worries over Greece pull down global markets
--DJIA has fallen in nine out of last 10 sessions
--GE leads DJIA higher after capital unit resumes dividend
By Chris Dieterich and Jonathan Cheng
OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- U.S. stocks were trading little changed Wednesday as confusion over Greece's political future and the role of the European Central Bank tamped down early gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up six points, or 0.1%, to 12638 in afternoon trading Wednesday.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index slipped one point, or 0.1%, to 1329 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 14 points, or 0.5%, to 2880.
Consumer-staples and industrial stocks rose. General Electric, up 4.3%, led the Dow components after announcing two acquisitions and encouraging news at its finance unit.
Materials and technology stocks fell, with Microsoft slipping 1.2%.
Blue chips have fallen for three straight sessions and nine out of the past 10. The Dow Tuesday was at its lowest close since Jan. 19.
European markets were bumped around by concerns about Greece. The Stoxx Europe 600 finished a rocky session down 0.6%. It had fallen as much as 1.4% earlier in the session.
In a sign of rising anxiety among Greeks, depositors withdrew EUR700 million ($891 million) from local banks Monday. Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to soothe investor fears by saying in an interview on CNBC that Germany was determined to keep Greece in the euro zone.
Reports suggesting the ECB could stop operations with some Greek banks compounded the confusion.
"We're seeing all these statements coming out of Europe, particularly with Merkel saying there's a strong commitment to keep Greece in the euro zone," said John De Clue, chief investment officer of U.S. Bank's Private Client Reserve.
"Unfortunately, I think markets may go sideways, though it will feel like it's going sideways at 1,000 miles per hour because of the volatility," he said.
Asian markets were sharply lower on the worries about Greece. China's Shanghai Composite slid 1.2% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average shed 1.1%.
In U.S. economic news, home construction in April increased 2.6% from the previous month. However, the number of new housing permits, an indication of future construction, fell. Industrial production, meantime, rose in April, though a downward revision to the previous month's number tempered investor optimism.
Wednesday's surge in GE came after the company's finance unit, GE Capital, said it would resume paying a quarterly dividend to its parent company. Separately, GE said it would buy Australia mining-equipment maker Industrea, as well as the privately held equipment maker Fairchild International.
J.C. Penney fell 18% and led the S&P 500 decliners after the department-store chain reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss and revenue that missed estimates, and said it will discontinue its quarterly dividend of 20 cents a share.
Abercrombie & Fitch slumped 15% after the apparel retailer reported revenue that missed estimates, citing challenging sales trends in Europe, and provided a downbeat sales outlook for the year.
Target inched up 0.6% after the discount retailer reported better-than-expected earnings and provided an outlook above current projections.
Home builder Lennar rose 1% after the strong reading on housing starts.
Deere & Co. fell 2.9% after the maker of farming equipment reported sales that came in lower than the company predicted in February, though earnings exceeded forecasts.
Arena Pharmaceuticals slid 7.4% after the biopharmaceutical company said it is planning a public offering of common stock.
OraSure Technologies surged 15% after the company said a U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee recommended approval of the company's in-home HIV test.
-By Chris Dieterich, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2611; christopher.dieterich@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 05-16-121426ET Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Asia stocks fall amid Greek political chaos - Yahoo Finance
BANGKOK (AP) -- Asian stock markets fell Wednesday, spooked by disappointing U.S. corporate earnings and fears that political turmoil in debt-crippled Greece is pushing it closer to financial disaster.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.5 percent to hit a three-month intraday low of 9,021.20 as traders pulled away from big exporters whose fortunes are partly linked to demand from Europe.
The same went for shares in other export-driven economies such as China and South Korea. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1 percent to 20,284.66 and South Korea's Kospi lost 0.9 percent to 1,950.68.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.2 percent to 4,262.30 after falling prices for metals hurt mining shares. Benchmarks in mainland China, Singapore and Taiwan also fell.
Markets have been increasingly volatile since Greek voters last weekend rejected political parties that imposed the deep spending cuts required in exchange for bailout money to keep the country from bankruptcy. On Tuesday, left-wing politician Alexis Tsipras said the country was no longer bound by its promises to cut spending sharply.
But a failure to keep those promises could lead international lenders to cut off rescue funding. That would likely lead Greece to default — and to the exit door of the euro common currency.
"If Greece repudiates the agreement signed by the previous government, the most likely scenario is Greece will default," said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong. "And then all hell will break loose, and Greece will get kicked out of the eurozone. It's like the end of the world for the eurozone."
Prices for most metals fell as the increasingly bleak outlook for the European economy renewed expectations of weak demand. Hong Kong-listed Zijin Mining Group Co., China's largest gold miner, dropped 4.1 percent. Aluminum Corp. of China plummeted 6.8 percent.
Australian mining giants also took hits. Rio Tinto Ltd. dropped 2.4 percent. Uranium miners Paladin Energy and Energy Resources of Australia tumbled 5.9 percent and 5 percent respectively.
But Panasonic Corp. jumped 2.3 percent in Tokyo after Kyodo News agency cited sources at the company as saying it expects to return to profit in the business year ending March 2013. Toyota Motor Corp., which will report annual earnings later in the day, rose 0.3 percent.
In the U.S., stock markets were sent lower by worries about Greece and sagging corporate results.
Wendy's Co. reported first quarter results that missed expectations on higher costs for ingredients like beef and lower-than-expected sales. Casino operator Wynn Resorts reported a drop in first-quarter earnings.
Meanwhile, McDonald's Corp., the world's largest hamburger chain, on Tuesday issued sales figures that missed analyst expectations.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 0.6 percent at 12,932.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.4 percent to 1,363.72. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.4 percent, to 2,946.27.
Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 51 cents to $96.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 93 cents to settle at $97.01 in New York on Tuesday.
In currencies, the euro fell to $1.2971 from $1.3030 late Tuesday in New York.
The dollar fell to 79.73 yen from 79.79 yen.
___
Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson
Stocks edge higher on Wall Street; Amazon surges - Yahoo Finance
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are trading slightly higher late Friday as investors weigh corporate profit gains against disappointing economic news.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 36 points to 13,241 at 3:45 p.m. The Standard & Poor's 500 edged up four points to 1,404. The Nasdaq composite rose 20 points to 3,071.
Amazon rose 16 percent after the online retailer reported a big increase in shipments. Online travel agency Expedia Inc. surged 26 percent on higher profits from its hotel-booking business
Early Friday, the government reported that U.S. economic growth slowed in the first three months of the year. The Commerce Department said that the economy grew at annual rate of 2.2 percent, below the 2.5 percent rate economists had expected. It grew at a faster rate, 3 percent, in the final three months of 2011.
David Rosenberg, chief economist at money manager Gluskin Sheff, said investors bid up stocks on the prospect the Federal Reserve is more likely now to embark on another round of bond buying to stimulate the economy now that it seems weaker
"''(Fed Chairman) Ben Bernanke has created the impression that if the economy stumbles, he'll be there to hold your hand," said Rosenberg.
European stock markets rose as investors shrugged off another downgrade of Spain's debt. The credit rating agency S&P warned that the Spain would have trouble paying down its debt with its economy in recession. Adding to its woes, Spain also reported its unemployment rate rose to nearly 25 percent, its highest in 18 years.
Spain's IBEX rose 1.7 percent, France's CAC-40 1.1 percent and Germany's DAX 0.9 percent.
However the yields on Spanish and Italian government bonds rose, a sign that investors are still uneasy about the ability of those countries to service their debt. The yield on Spain's benchmark 10-year bond rose 0.08 percentage point to 5.87 percent. Italy's 10-year yield rose 0.11 point to 5.64 percent.
In the U.S., Procter & Gamble fell 4 percent after the consumer products giant reported a 16 percent profit slump for the first three months of the year on higher costs for raw materials and restructuring charges. The maker of Bounty paper towels and Luv diapers said it would be rolling back price increases on some products where it was losing market share. It also lowered earnings forecasts for the year.
Starbucks slid 5 percent after the coffee company reported a slowdown of sales in Europe.
Companies in the S&P 500 are now on track to report a 6 percent rise in earnings for the first three months of 2012 versus the same period a year ago, according to FactSet, a financial data provider. A month ago, Wall Street analysts expected earnings this quarter to show no change.
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