MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Head South Again; Car Sales Not As Bad As Expected
06 January 2009 - 7:15AM
Dow Jones News
By Kate Gibson
U.S. stocks turned lower on Monday afternoon after a short-lived
attempt in positive territory as investors shifted through December
sales results from automakers which, while poor, were not as awful
as many had expected.
After closing at an eight-week high Friday, the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI) was down 108.72 points, or 1.2%, at
8,925.97.
Twenty-one of the Dow's 30 components remained mired in the red,
with Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) fronting the declines, its
shares lately off 7.9% in the wake of its downgrade by Bernstein
Research.
Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) also slumped, down
5% after Deutsche Bank cut its estimates on the bank. .
The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 5.91 points to 925.89, with energy,
consumer discretionary and materials leading the advance that
included all but two of the index's 10 industry groups.
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD)and Peabody Energy Group
Corp. (BTU) fronted gains among energy companies, both rising about
8%.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) declined 10.28 points, or 0.6%, to
1,621.93, with tech stocks dipping even as Apple Inc. shares rose
after CEO Steve Jobs acknowledged health problems but said he would
stay on as the company's chief executive. .
Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) gained 3.9% after Jobs said he is
undergoing treatment for a hormone imbalance that has caused him to
lose weight. Jobs made his comments in an open letter to the Apple
community. .
In an abrupt move, Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) said CEO dick Bond has
stepped down from his post at the big meat producer. Tyson shares
were off 7.6% in afternoon trade. .
On Capitol Hill, President-elect Barack Obama is meeting with
congressional leaders of both parties as he tries to shore up
support for his economic-stimulus package and about $300 billion in
tax cuts. .
On Friday, the Labor Department is expected to report a decline
of 500,000 jobs in December, which would translate into a loss of
more than 2 million jobs for 2008.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 811 million, and
advancing issues overtook those declining nearly 2 to 1. On the
Nasdaq, 455 million shares traded, and advancers and decliners ran
about even.
Driven
End-of-the-year results from the auto industry proved dismal,
but investors expected worse. Shares of Ford Motor Co. (F) gained
4.9% after it reported a 32.4% drop in December sales; General
Motors Corp. (GM) rose 4.4% after GM said sales fell 31% last
month. .
"This is good news in the sense that it suggest the industry may
finally be stabilizing after hemorrhaging for much of this year,"
said analysts at Action Economics.
Economic data were also Less grim than anticipated, with the
Commerce Department reporting that construction spending fell 0.6%
in November.
J.P. Morgan raised its rating on Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) to
overweight from neutral. Shares of the online retailer were off
1.6%.
Oil futures rallied to one-month highs, with crude for February
delivery up $2.47, or 5.3%, to end at $48.81 a barrel on the New
York Mercantile Exchange.
Elsewhere on the NYME, gold futures closed down $21.7, or 2.5%,
at $857.8 an ounce.
The dollar index (DXY), a measure of the greenback against rival
currencies, held steady at 82.654, up 1%. .
Treasury prices were mixed after the Federal Reserve said it had
begun buying mortgage-backed securities. .
Overseas, Asian markets shot higher, with Japanese stocks taking
the lead.
European shares also gained, with telecom, utility and oil
equities among the strongest performers. .
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