ABOUT US | SERVICES | SUBSCRIPTIONS | LOGIN | SIGNUP
SUBSCRIBE TO TMCnet
TMCnet - World's Largest Communications and Technology Community
MARKETS » MOBILE Commerce HTML5 WebRTC
HOT TOPICS » VIDEO MANAGED SERVICES WEARABLE TECH WORLD NETWORK MANAGEMENT

TMC NEWS

TMCNET eNEWSLETTER SIGNUP

SUBMIT
Stocks slip on mixed news about earnings, economy
[April 19, 2012]

Stocks slip on mixed news about earnings, economy

(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) NEW YORK -- Stocks in the U.S. fell slightly at midday Thursday as investors weighed stronger corporate earnings against disappointing economic reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 23 points to 13,010 at noon. The S&P 500 dropped 3 points to 1,382.

Morgan Stanley rose 1.4 percent after the bank trounced Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates. UnitedHealth Group Inc. rose 2.7 percent after reporting higher profits. EBay, Southwest Airlines and Bank of America also beat forecasts.

Stock indexes fell after two relatively weak economic reports came out mid-morning. An index of regional manufacturing compiled by the Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve dropped sharply, and the National Association of Realtors said home sales fell 2.6 percent last month.

Earlier, the Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits dipped 2,000 to 386,000. When the number is above 375,000, investors take it as a sign that hiring isn't strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.


"None of these (reports) were disastrous, but they're not as strong as we like to see," said Brian Lazorishak, a portfolio manager at Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Va. Still, he added, "We've had good numbers out of some companies, so maybe we have some room for upside here." In other trading, the Nasdaq composite index fell one point to 3,030.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks fell on worries that European efforts to help governments there pay off their debt could hit new roadblocks. The Bank of Spain had reported that bad loans at the country's banks had hit an 18-year high.

Before the opening bell Thursday, investors were nervously watching a sale of new Spanish government bonds. The auction met with high demand, and more bonds were sold than expected. But yields rose anyway. The yield on Spanish 10-year notes rose to 5.87 percent, an increase of 0.06 percentage point.

European markets mostly fell. Spain's IBEX index fell 2.4 percent, Greece's main index 1.8 percent and France's CAC-40 fell 2 percent.

In other corporate news, Tumi Holdings, a maker of high-end luggage, jumped 47 percent to $26.50 on its first day of trading.

The U.S.-listed shares of cell phone maker Nokia sank 3.6 percent after the Finnish company reported a loss for the first three months of the year and a 40 percent plunge in device sales. The company faces fierce competition from Apple's iPhone and handset makers that use Google's Android software.

Human Genome Sciences doubled to $14.31 after the company spurned a takeover offer from GlaxoSmithKline of $13 per share, saying it undervalues the company. The biotech drug maker, which produces the lupus treatment Benlysta, said it would consider other options including a sale of the company.

(c) 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]


Upcoming Events



LATEST VIDEOS

DOWNLOAD CENTER

UPCOMING WEBINARS

MOST POPULAR STORIES





Technology Marketing Corporation

800 Connecticut Ave, 1st Floor East, Norwalk, CT 06854 USA
Ph: 800-243-6002, 203-852-6800
Fx: 203-866-3326

General comments: tmc@tmcnet.com.
Comments about this site: webmaster@tmcnet.com.

IMPORTANT

SUBSCRIPTIONS


Subscribe to our FREE eNewsletters
SUBMIT

STAY CURRENT YOUR WAY

© 2013 Technology Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved.