Market movers
Dow Jones: +12 at 13,565
S&P 500: -2 at 1,459
NASDAQ Composite: -1 at 3,178
LONDON (SHARECAST) - Tuesday was a day of gentle decline for leading US stocks although the narrowly-based Dow Jones industrial average went in the opposite direction to most other US benchmarks, finishing the day with a small gain.
Waiting for Spain to bite the bulletUS investors are reluctant to commit too hard until they know what Spain's plans are regarding a bailout. Comments from both high level European Central Bank officials and the Spanish Deputy Prime Minister, Saenz de Santamaria, have indicated the cash strapped Mediterranean country could make a formal request for assistance, in the form of bond buying by the European Central Bank (ECB), but the clock is ticking and Spanish bond yields are creeping back up again.
European Central Bank member Luc Coene warned that rising bond yields may force Spain to ask for aid and assume conditions by the European Union.
If Spain does not ask for assistance, "then it will not last long before spreads will rise again, and then Spain will be somewhat forced to come back on its decision and submit to the conditionality program,” Coene said.
Coene insisted that the ECB will not buy Spain's bonds if the country does not ask for assistance. Additionally, Coene said that the ECB would stop buying immediately if countries failed to comply on agreements with the central bank.
There was some positive news emanating from Spain, however, with the Iberian country's bond auction going well. The Spanish Treasury was able to issue 12 and 18-month bills for €4.6bn, which is more than the top end of the €3.5bn - €4.5bn target.
18-month bills were issued for €1.02bn (maturity: February 21, 2014) at a yield of 3.072%, lower than the previous 3.335%. 12-month bills were issued for €3.56bn (maturity: September 20, 2013) at a yield of 2.835%, lower than the previous 3.07%.
Stateside, there was some cheery news on the housing front, with the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index climbing 3 points to a seasonally adjusted level of 40 in September.
Charles Evans, President of the Chicago Federal Reserve, did his bit to boost sentiment, saying in a speech that the third round of quantitative easing (QE3) announced by the Federal Reserve last week will help boost the economy despite European debt problems and the upcoming 'fiscal cliff' in the US.
"Given the slow and fragile recovery, the large resource gaps that still exist, and the large risks we face, it remains clear that we needed a more resilient economy," Evans said in a prepared text of a speech in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Last week's Fed action "provided a more accommodative monetary policy that can help us achieve such resilience."
Bellwether stock signals slow-downUS delivery company FedEx has lowered its projected outlook after it presented fiscal first quarter net income that fell shy of last year's mark. Earnings for the fiscal first quarter came in at $1.45 per diluted share compared to $1.46 per share last year.
FedEx now expects 2013 earnings per share (EPS) of $6.20 - $6.60 compared to its prior estimate of $6.90 - $7.40. Second quarter EPS is expected to come in at $1.30 - $1.45. The company said that the weakening global economy is impacting its results.
The company announced that it will raise shipping rates in 2013 in an attempt to offset falling volume and falling margins, especially for priority services.
Computer chip firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) tumbled after announcing it would part company with its Chief Financial Officer. The group has been hit by the growth of mobile computing and harsh competition from long time rival Intel. The stock is down 32% since the start of the year.
Another tech company enduring board room upheaval is OCZ Technology, which produces computer goods aimed at the "modder" (modification, or customisation) end of the market. Chief Executive Officer Ryan Petersen has resigned from the firm, best known for solid state drives and super-fast memory chips.
Computer networking company F5 Networks upheld the honour of the tech sector, topping the S&P 500 leader board after a positive research note on the stock from Piper Jaffray.
On a day when Apple's share price cracked through the $700 level, the toppled king of the technology sector, Microsoft, announced plans to hike the company dividend by 15% to 23 cents a share.
Other marketsCrude oil stockpiles rose by 2m barrels in the week ended September, the American Petroleum Institute revealed. The news is sure to put additional pressure on the price of oil, which has been heading south this week.
The price of West Texas intermediate crude for October delivery fell $1.33 to $95.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The US dollar had a solid day in the foreign exchange markets, while US Treasury yields declined, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury seeing its yield dip to 1.80% from 1.84%, as concerns about Spain linger and worries grow over rising tension in the always fractious relationship between Japan and China.
S&P 500 - Risers
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $108.62 +3.98%
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) $29.87 +3.18%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $6.09 +3.05%
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $36.92 +2.30%
Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (MJN) $75.72 +2.30%
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) $43.28 +2.17%
CareFusion Corp. (CFN) $28.42 +2.01%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $3.62 -9.73%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $68.39 -3.36%
Teradyne Inc. (TER) $15.15 -3.32%
Ventas Inc. (VTR) $63.05 -3.31%
FedEx Corp. (FDX) $86.55 -3.06%
AutoNation Inc. (AN) $40.98 -3.01%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $93.07 +1.17%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $93.08 +1.02%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $9.49 -0.94%
American Express Co. (AXP) $58.67 -0.86%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $81.48 -0.82%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $51.27 -0.81%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $9.23 -0.75%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $108.62 +3.98%
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) $29.87 +3.18%
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $36.92 +2.30%
Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $7.41 +2.28%
Warner Chilcott Plc (WCRX) $13.12 +2.18%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $68.39 -3.36%
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) $29.97 -2.85%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $32.57 -2.51%
Flextronics International Ltd. (FLEX) $6.34 -2.46%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $65.76 -2.35%
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