Dow slips; stocks are steady after European elections
The blue chips fall 30 points, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq end with small gains. European stocks move higher. Oil prices fall, boosting airline stocks. Disney shares rise with success of 'Avengers' film.
Updated: 7:56 p.m. ET Stocks finished surprisingly flat today after traders globally concluded that the election outcomes in France and Greece might not cause much chaos -- yet.
In fact, markets in Germany, France, Spain and Italy moved higher. (Greece's major stock index was off nearly 7%, however.) While the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) finished with a small loss, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) and Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) both showed gains. Three important sectors of the market -- banks, transportation and technology -- were higher.
Six months ago, the European results might have induced real panic. Panic was not present today in part because markets are betting the austerity will still rule European economic policy, despite Nicholas Sarkozy's loss to Francois Hollande on Sunday.
The wild card yet again is Greece, where another election may be in the offing. The leaders of the center-right party announced today they couldn't form a government, and deferred to Alexis Tsipras, head of the Syriza Party, a left-of-center coalition party that came in second in Sunday's election. If a government can't be formed, another party may be asked to try, and Greece may have to hold another election.
The Dow closed down 30 points to 13,009. The S&P 500 was up a half point to 1,370, and the Nasdaq finished up 1 point to 2,958. The Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX) was up 1 point to 2,639.
Article continues below.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), up $20.71 to $58.12, was the top Nasdaq-100 percentage performer and added nearly four points to the index. Apple (AAPL) finished up $4.23 to $569.48, adding 3.6 points to the index. Microsoft (MSFT) and Oracle (ORCL) were lower, and Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) was off sharply. (Microsoft publishes MSN Money.)
Vertex, the maker of the first medicine to target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis, said today the drug Kalydeco and a second therapy helped improve patients’ breathing ability.
Cognizant Technology Solutions sank $13.36 to $56.30. It was also the worst S&P 500 performer. The information-technology company lowered its 2012 revenue forecast to at least $7.34 billion from at least $7.53 billion. The average analyst estimate is $7.55 billion.
Wynn Resorts, Electronic Arts results disappoint
After the close, Wynn Resorts (WYNN) shares fell $1.49, or 1.2%, to $123.70. The company reported earnings of $1.33 a share, down 5 cents from a year and 7 cents below Street estimates. Revenue was up 4.2% to $1.31 billion.
Revenue at its Macau operations were up 9.8% to $950.7 million. Wynn's Las Vegas revenue fell 8.1% to $363.8 million.
Shares had fallen $2.21 to $125.19 in regular trading.
Electronic Arts (EA) shares were down 5% to $14.38 after hours. The company forecast a fiscal-first-quarter loss of 40 cents to 45 cents, with revenue of about $500 million, short of the analyst estimate of $586.6 million. Shares had finished up 1 cent to $15.13 in regular trading.
The market faces no economic reports on Tuesday. Earnings are due from apparel retailer Fossil (FOSL), Molson-Coors (TAP), OfficeMax (OMX) and Walt Disney (DIS).
| Energy prices -- New York close | ||||||||||||
| Mon. | Fri. | Month chg. | YTD chg. | |||||||||
| Crude oil (-CL) | $97.94 | $98.49 | -6.61% | -0.90% | ||||||||
| (per barrel) | ||||||||||||
| Heating oil (-HO) | $2.9814 | $3.0088 | -6.37% | 2.31% | ||||||||
| (per gallon) | ||||||||||||
| Natural gas (-NG) | $2.3360 | $2.2790 | 2.23% | -21.85% | ||||||||
| (per mil. BTU) | ||||||||||||
| Unleaded gasoline (-RB) | $2.9741 | $2.9758 | -4.82% | 11.92% | ||||||||
| (per gallon) | ||||||||||||
| Brent crude | $113.16 | $113.18 | -5.34% | 5.38% | ||||||||
| (per barrel) | ||||||||||||
| Retail gasoline | $3.7770 | $3.7830 | -1.02% | 15.29% | ||||||||
| (per gallon; AAA) | ||||||||||||
Crude oil falls again, affecting energy stocks
Crude oil (-CL) dropped heavily but recovered to settle down 55 cents to $97.94 a barrel after dropping to as low as $95.34. Brent crude was up 5 cents to $113.23 a barrel. The retail price of regular unleaded gasoline was down to $3.777 from $3.783 on Sunday and $3.803 on Friday. The pump price has fallen 4% since peaking at $3.936 on April 6.
The result of the oil price decline was a mixed picture for energy stocks. Chevron (CVX) was off 41 cents to $103.31. Exxon Mobil (XOM) was off 9 cents to $84.48. Apache (APA) was off $1.22 to $87.84.
But airline shares jumped in response to lower oil prices. United Continental Holdings (UAL) was the top performer among stocks in the Dow Jones Transportation Average. The index was up 34 points to 52,62. The five airlines in the index -- United Continental, Southwest (LUV), Jet Blue (JBLU), Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Alaska Airlines (ALK) -- were the top performers today.
Gold (-GC) settled down $6.10 to $1,639.10 an ounce. Silver (-SI) dropped 31 cents to $30.12 an ounce. Copper (-HG) rose 5.25 cents to $3.7735 a pound.
Interest rates were slightly lower, with the 10-year Treasury yield off slightly to 1.877% from 1.88% on Friday. The dollar was higher against major currencies.
Facebook starts its road show
Facebook executives were out in force in New York today pitching their stock to potential investors.
A luncheon meeting at the Sheraton New York Hotel featured CEO Mark Zuckerberg, clad in his trademark hoodie jacket, while other executives were more traditionally clad.
Facebook hopes to raise $11.8 billion in its initial public offering, which potentially could value the company at as much as $96 billion.
Potential investors waited in a line that snaked through the hotel’s lobby and around the side of the building. Additional meetings are set for Boston and Palo Alto, Calif.
Underwriters hope to price the offering late on May 17, with trading to start on May 18.
Warren Buffett weighed in on Facebook at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting extravaganza over the weekend. He thinks Facebook's story is "extraordinary," but he won't invest in it.
Disney rises on 'Marvel's The Avengers'
Walt Disney gained 89 cents to $43.82 for the second-biggest gain among the 30 Dow stocks. The company's movie "Marvel's The Avengers" had record ticket sales of $200.3 million in the U.S. and Canada its opening weekend, topping the performance last year of Time Warner's (TWX) “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." Disney reports fiscal-second-quarter earnings after Tuesday's close.
Georgia Gulf (GGC) fell $2.28 to $31.98. Westlake Chemical (WLK) withdrew its unsolicited $1.2 billion bid to buy North America's largest maker of vinyl construction products after the sweetened offer was rejected as too low.
Tyson Foods (TSN) was the second-best S&P 500 performer, up 59 cents to $18.63. The largest U.S. meat processor reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates and said it will boost stock buybacks by 35 million shares.
Bank of America (BAC) was the Dow leader, up 22 cents to $7.96. Twelve of the 30 stocks in the index were higher. The laggard was Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), down 40 cents to $23.87.
A total of 241 S&P 500 stocks were higher, led by solar-panel maker First Solar (FSLR), up 73 cents to $17.67. The laggards were Cognizant Technologies and Frontier Communications (FTR), down 28 cents to $3.61.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Seagate Technology (STX) were the Nasdaq-100 leaders. Cognizant and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (CMGR) were the laggards. Forty-one stocks in the index were higher.
| Short hits from the markets -- New York close | ||||||||||||
| Mon. | Fri. | Month chg. | YTD chg. | |||||||||
| Treasury yields | ||||||||||||
| 13-week Treasury bill | 0.0800% | 0.070% | -11.11% | 700.00% | ||||||||
| 5-year Treasury note | 0.782% | 0.784% | -3.58% | -5.78% | ||||||||
| 10-year Treasury note | 1.877% | 1.880% | -1.98% | 0.32% | ||||||||
| 30-year Treasury bond | 3.067% | 3.071% | -1.35% | 6.16% | ||||||||
| Currencies | ||||||||||||
| U.S. Dollar Index | 79.715 | 79.293 | 1.10% | -1.00% | ||||||||
| British pound | 1.6171 | 1.6158 | -0.44% | 4.08% | ||||||||
| (in U.S. $) | ||||||||||||
| U.S. $ in pounds | £0.618 | £0.619 | 0.44% | -3.92% | ||||||||
| Euro in dollars | $1.30 | $1.30 | -1.54% | 0.67% | ||||||||
| (in U.S. $) | ||||||||||||
| U.S. $ in euros | € 0.767 | € 0.768 | 1.56% | -0.66% | ||||||||
| U.S. $ in yen | 80.06 | 79.76 | 0.08% | 3.84% | ||||||||
| U.S. $ in Chinese | 6.32 | 6.31 | 0.28% | -0.12% | ||||||||
| yuan | ||||||||||||
| Canada dollar | $1.006 | $1.005 | -0.69% | 2.57% | ||||||||
| (in U.S. $) | ||||||||||||
| U.S. dollar | $0.994 | $0.995 | 0.70% | -2.52% | ||||||||
| (in Canadian $) | ||||||||||||
| Commodities | ||||||||||||
| Gold (-GC) | $1,639.10 | $1,645.20 | -1.51% | 4.61% | ||||||||
| (per troy ounce) | ||||||||||||
| Copper (-HG) | $3.774 | $3.721 | -1.46% | 9.82% | ||||||||
| (per pound) | ||||||||||||
| Silver (-SI) | $30.1220 | $30.4320 | -2.88% | 7.91% | ||||||||
| (per troy ounce) | ||||||||||||
| Wheat (-ZW) | $6.1200 | $6.0950 | -6.49% | -6.24% | ||||||||
| (per bushel) | ||||||||||||
| Corn (-ZC) | $6.2000 | $6.203 | -2.25% | -4.10% | ||||||||
| (per bushel) | ||||||||||||
| Cotton | $0.8667 | 0.8799 | -3.05% | -5.46% | ||||||||
| (per pound) | ||||||||||||
| Coffee | $1.7520 | 1.746 | -2.42% | -23.71% | ||||||||
| (per pound) | ||||||||||||
| Crude oil (-CL) | $97.14 | $98.49 | -7.37% | -1.71% | ||||||||
| (per barrel) | ||||||||||||
FOR ALL THOSE OBAMA LOVERS HERE YOU GO:
Hello America, Obama here. Its time for what Democrats do best - SPENDING YOUR MONEY. The first thing I'm gonna do is shovel over hundreds of billions to bailout BIG GOVERNMENT. Too many criminal SANCTUARY STATES and SANCTUARY CITIES are broke and need your money. The honest, law abiding governments don't need bailing out. You see, all these ILLEGALS are really expensive and lazy union government workers can't be laid off. Who ever heard of government laying people off or cutting spending? We just raise your taxes more and borrow more money. Let's see now. Us government workers only have to work for about
25 years and get paid holidays like Martin Luther Kings Birthday, Washington's Birthday, and Columbus Day. And in Chicago, government workers get the day off for Casimir Pulaski Day. I bet you people in private industry don't get those ones. But you gotta pay for it. There are TWO CLASSES in the United States, those with generous pensions, and those who have to pay for them. US government workers don't get laid off, instead we get generous raises and vacation packages the rest of you can only dream of. Then we retire and get big pensions before we are 50, just like the United Auto Workers you just paid to bail out. You people in private industry have to worry about layoffs, social security, health insurance, and your 401K's. And don't forget about us politicians importing more foreigners to drive your wages down and
steal your jobs. Then you're going to have to work your **** off until you're 75 to pay for us. We already spent all your Social Security money, so don't expect any of that. I'm sure glad I'm a government worker and get three different pensions. That would really suck working in the private sector. You people are getting robbed. Well, too bad for you. You voted for us. Raises and bonuses for every one in D.C.!
New leftist governments in Greece and France may start a trend that flows though the continent. The debt based economy that was created with the euro does not work as well as the debt based economy the U.S. has.
In the Euro-zone the debt is held and the debt controlled outside the control of the sovereign governments of its various member states. Therefore the governments of the various countries have had to align themselves with the ECB and against their constituents.
In the U.S. the fed stands behind the government and as long as the politicians can sell the idea to the people that a currency that is constantly loosing value is a good thing it will continue.
Fire the whole lying Republican Party in 2012!
We don't have a problem replacing Republicans. The Leftie Dems. have always supported and re-elected the worst of the worst.... Slick Lickit Willey , Backdoor Barney, Pitiful Pelosi, Scary Harry, etc. Clean your own house then talk.
The first comment is stupid and Amen to the last comment.
ONE REASON WHY WE CAN'T FIX STUPID: READ THIS FROM THE No. 1 STUPID:
most Americans should embrace socialism their lives will improve. two months paid vacation. a livable wage with time off to enjoy life. So what if the governments run deficits. Here in the US we get none of the benefits and our deficits are like 10 times more than EU deficits all added together. The only ones who will hurt are the one percenters. I say let them suffer for a change. Give me the nice 9 to 3 job with a 2 hour lunch at $200,000 a year with no boss that will fire me because the work doesn't get done. Paid health care, two months of paid vacations, free day care for the kids. Damn those socialists know how to live like the rich and make the rich pay for it.
Stupid like this shouldn't live in the US....oh sorry! it would include the tenants of the WH.
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