US Market posts slight losses
US market registered little losses today, Monday, 21 July, 2008 after
crude prices climbed up again and Banc of America announced a
substantial drop in its profits but however topping Wall Street?s
estimates. Two pharmaceutical companies postponing their earning report
till market closes also took a bit of toll on the market sentiment.
Seven out of ten sectors ended in the red today led by consumer
discretionary. Energy sector was one of the top gainers.
After
a modest climb, The Dow Jones industrial Average ended the day with a
loss of 29.23 points at 11,467.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished
lower by 3.25 points at 2,279.53. S&P 500 finished lower by 0.68
points at 1,260.
Twenty-one out of thirty Dow stocks ended in the red today led by Merck and American Express.
On the economic front, June leading indicators fell 0.1%, which was
in-line with expectations. The report had a limited impact on the stock
market.
Bank of America reported a 43% drop in earnings per
share to $0.72. However, the result easily topped Wall Street's
forecast due to a lower-than-expected write-down of $1.2 billion. The
stock closed higher by 4%.
Merck along with Schering-Plough
delayed releasing their second-quarter earnings until after the
market's close as Norwegian researchers said the study found a
cholesterol drug, Vytorin, marketed by the two companies to be
ineffective in curtailing a cardiac condition.
The healthcare
sector recently took a sharp slip into negative ground after
momentarily spiking upward into the green. The drop coincides with
negative news related to two marquee names in the pharmaceutical
industry.
Barring HDFC Bank, Rediff.com and Patni Computers, all
other Indian ADRs ended in the red today. Rediff.com was the largest
gainer with the ADR soaring more than 4%.
Crude oil prices
rose for the first time in five sessions today. Price spurred up as a
tropical storm, Dolly, entered the Gulf of Mexico, and Iran, the
world's fourth-biggest producer, resisted demands to suspend nuclear
research. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for August delivery
closed at $131.04 /barrel (higher by $2.16/barrel or 1.7%) on the New
York Mercantile Exchange. It was the first increase in five days.
A hurricane watch was issued for the Texas coastline from Brownsville
to Port O'Connor at morning time today by the Miami-based hurricane
center. Dolly moved over the Yucatan Peninsula earlier today. Petroleos
Mexicanos, Mexico's state oil company, produces about 1.07 million
barrels of oil a day in the Bay of Campeche, which is south of the
projected track of the storm. The northern Gulf of Mexico accounts for
about 25% of U.S. oil production.
Trading was relatively light,
with volume on the New York Stock Exchange passing 1.2 billion, and
advancing stocks outran those declining nearly 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq,
more than 753 million shares traded, and advancers beat decliners 5 to
4.
For tomorrow, Wachovia Bank, UPS, United Health, Caterpillar
and DuPont are some of the more widely-held companies scheduled to
announce their latest quarterly results Tuesday morning. There is no
market moving economic data due tomorrow. Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson is scheduled to speak about the U.S. economy and markets before
the opening bell.
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