Wall Street: US stocks drop amid global equity selloff

NEW YORK: US stocks dropped sharply in early trade Thursday, following international markets downward as anxiety over global growth continued to prompt selling.

About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 16,062.34, down 79.40 points (0.49 per cent).

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 13.75 (0.74 per cent) to 1,848.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 43.05 (1.02 per cent) to 4,172.27.

Equity markets in Britain and France were down more than 1.0 per cent. Asian markets also fell sharply, with Japan's Nikkei tumbling 2.22 per cent.

"Global risk aversion is persisting amid exacerbated global growth concerns, fueled by yesterday's surprising decline in US retail sales," said a market note from Charles Schwab.

"Moreover, a flare-up in Greek debt concerns, festering Ebola fears, and heightened geopolitical concerns are adding to the dampened global mood."

Thursday's declines move the market closer to a full-blown correction, normally considered a drop of 10-20 per cent. The S&P 500 has fallen about eight per cent since its mid-September all-time high.

Investors brushed off positive news, such as a drop in initial jobless claims to 264,000, the lowest level since April 2000, according to the Department of Labor.

Dow member Goldman Sachs fell 2.1 per cent despite reporting a 50 per cent increase in third-quarter earnings to $2.14 billion in results that bested Wall Street expectations by a wide margin.

Video-streaming company Netflix plummeted 22.7 per cent on disappointing subscriber growth figures. The video-streaming company said it gained just three million members in the past quarter, to boost its subscribers to 53.1 million worldwide.

Apple fell 1.5 per cent ahead of an event in California later Thursday at which it is expected to unveil new versions of the iPad.

Chesapeake Energy bolted 13.5 per cent higher following news it will sell shale oil and gas assets to Southwestern Energy for $5.4 billion. Southwestern lost 6.9 per cent.

EBay dropped 4.9 per cent as it projected fourth-quarter revenues of $4.85-$4.95 billion, below analyst forecasts for $5.16 billion. The profit outlook was also on the low end of expectations.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury held steady at 2.09 per cent, the same level as Wednesday, while the 30-year stood at 2.87 per cent, down from 2.88 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

Oil prices briefly dipped below $80 a barrel for the US benchmark contract, before coming back to 80.75, off $1.03 from Wednesday's close.
Source : economictimes

Wall Street bounces after 3-day slump on earnings hope

NEW YORK: US stocks were higher on Tuesday, rebounding after the S&P 500's worst three-day drop since November 2011, as bullish investors hoped a solid earnings season would ease global growth concerns.

Citigroup, up 3.2 per cent to $51.48, was among the top boosts to the benchmark S&P index after the bank posted better-than-expected quarterly results and said it would pull out of consumer banking in 11 markets.

But JPMorgan Chase shares lost 1.1 per cent to $57.54, after the biggest US bank posted third-quarter earnings. Wells Fargo, the fourth largest US bank, lost 1.6 per cent to $49.39 after its results.

The S&P financial index gained 0.7 per cent.

Johnson & Johnson shares lost 1.3 per cent to $97.82 even after the diversified healthcare company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on the back of strong sales for a new hepatitis C drug.

The index closed below its 200-day moving average for the first time since Nov. 16, 2012, on Monday and is now down 6.1 per cent from its record closing high on September 18.

S&P 500 companies are expected to show earnings growth of 6.4 per cent in the third quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data, with revenue growth expected at 4 per cent. After the close, Dow component and chipmaker Intel is set to post results.

At 10:58am, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 84.83 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 16,405.9, the S&P 500 gained 12.45 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 1,887.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 39.84 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 4,253.50.

The largest per centage gainer on the S&P 500 was Delta Air Lines, up 5.6 per cent, while the largest per centage decliner was ONEOK Inc, down 3.3 per cent.

The largest per centage gainer on the Nasdaq 100 was NXP Semiconductors, up 5.1 per cent, while the largest per centage decliner was Autodesk, down 2.1 per cent.

Among the most active stocks on the NYSE were Bank Of America, up 0.67 per cent to $16.51; Petrobras, up 0.23 per cent to $17.31; and Advanced Micro Devices, down 1.09 per cent to $2.71.

On the Nasdaq, APPLE, up 0.3 per cent to $100.08, and Facebook, up 0.5 per cent to $73.34, were among the most actively traded.

Advancing issues were outnumbering declining ones on the NYSE by 2,020 to 953, for a 2.12-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,862 issues were rising and 690 falling for a 2.70-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 6 new 52-week highs and 23 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 16 new highs and 121 new lows.

Wall Street falls, Dow in negative territory for 2014

NEW YORK: US stocks fell on Friday, with the Dow ending in negative territory for the year and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting their worst weeks since May 2012.

Technology shares led the day's decline after a chipmaker warned of a major pullback in the industry.

Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 115.15 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 16,544.1, the S&P 500 lost 22.08 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 1,906.13 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 102.10 points, or 2.33 per cent, to 4,276.24.

Source : economictimes

World Stock Market : Dow Jones average hits highest mark since '07

NEW YORK: The fastest growth in US manufacturing in 10 months gave stocks a lift Tuesday and pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest close in more than four years.

Manufacturing expanded last month at the strongest pace since June, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Orders, hiring and production all rose.

A measure of manufacturing employment also reached a nine-month high, a hopeful sign ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report.

The manufacturing news jolted stock indexes out of a morning stupor, although the gains waned throughout the afternoon. The Dow added 65.69 points to 13,279.32, its highest closing mark since Dec. 28, 2007, during the first month of the Great Recession.

Treasury prices fell, and benchmark crude oil rose $1.29 to settle at $106.16 per barrel. Both of those things tend to happen when investors expect stronger economic growth.

In a separate report Tuesday, the Commerce Department said construction spending ticked up in March, following two months of declines.

Other indexes pushed higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose eight points to 1,406. The Nasdaq composite climbed four points to 3,050.

All 10 industry groups within the S&P 500 climbed, led by energy companies. Chesapeake Energy Corp. jumped 6 per cent on reports that the company will strip CEO Aubrey McClendon of his chairman's title.

McClendon, Chesapeake's founder, was under fire for taking out more than $1 billion in loans using the company's wells as collateral. Chesapeake recently agreed to end the program that allowed McClendon to take personal stakes in the wells.

The S&P finished April in the red, its first losing month since November. The Dow managed a tiny gain.

Judging by its track record, May isn't a promising month for stocks. Since World War II, the S&P 500 has gained an average of 0.31 per cent in May. For all months, the average gain is 0.67 per cent.

Among stocks making big moves:

Sears Holdings Corp. soared 15 per cent, the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The operator of Kmart and Sears stores expects to post a first-quarter profit thanks to a gain from the sale of some US and Canadian stores. The company's stock has jumped 99 per cent so far this year.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. gained 7 per cent after the food conglomerate reported profits that beat analysts' expectations. Profits dropped by nearly a third over the past year, pulled down by one-time charges and lower weaker results from its ethanol and oilseeds businesses.
 
Avon Products Inc. fell 8 per cent, the largest drop in the S&P. The company said earnings plunged 82 per cent, hurt by a bigger restructuring charge, commodity costs and rising labor costs. The results were worse than analysts had expected.

Dow Jones above 12k after 2 years

NEW YORK: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 12,000 for the first time since June 2008, after American and Chinese manufacturing expanded and United Parcel Service Inc beat analysts' earnings estimates.

UPS, the package-delivery company considered a proxy for economic growth, advanced 4.2%. The S&P 500 rose 1.7%, the most since December 1, to 1,307.59. The benchmark gauge for US equities has rallied 2.5% in the past two days, erasing the January 28 slump that was driven by Egyptian riots. The Dow added 148.23 points, or 1.3%, to 12,040.16.

The S&P 500 has risen 4% this year, extending a 13% advance in 2010, on government stimulus measures and higher-than-estimated corporate profits. About 74% of the 204 companies that reported earnings since January 10 topped analysts' projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Shares extended gains on Tuesday after the ISM's factory index rose to 60.8 in January, beating the median economist projection of 58.

US gross domestic product growth accelerated to 3.2% in the fourth quarter from 2.6% during the prior three months, the Commerce Department said on January 28. On Monday, reports showed American businesses expanded at the fastest pace since 1988 and consumer spending beat economist estimates.

The last time the S&P 500 closed above 1,300 was in August 2008.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average of 20 stocks had the biggest gain in two months, rallying 2%.

An index of raw-materials producers in the S&P 500 added 2.8%, the biggest gain among 10 industries.

Commodities beat stocks for three months, the longest stretch since June 2008. The S&P GSCI Total Return Index of 24 raw materials gained 3.1% in January and rose for a fifth month, the longest streak since 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The MSCI All-Country World Index of equities climbed 1.6% including dividends. The Global Broad Market Index for corporate and government bonds lost 0.3%, Bank of America Merrill Lynch data show.

source : Bloomberg