LONDON (SHARECAST) - US shares recovered some of their early losses but, unlike recent days, could not gather enough momentum to close higher.
The Dow Jones finished 11 points lower at 10,426. The broader based S&P 500 was flat at 1,109 while Nasdaq shed 10 at 2,193.
There was disappointing news about inflation. Consumer price inflation rose by 0.3% in October year-on-year, compared with expectations of a 0.2% rise. Housing starts were down by 10.6% from a year earlier in October compared with a 1.6% rise in September.
Computer aided design software developer Autodesk is the big faller among S&P 500 companies, after fourth quarter earnings guidance disappointed. The company said underlying fourth quarter earnings per share is likely to be 24 cents, versus market expectations of 25 cents.
Salesforce.com was another big faller, for similar reasons. The customer management software firm said fourth quarter earnings per share are likely to be around 14-15 cents, when the market had been expecting an average figure of 15 cents.
Bank of America also cut its recommendation for Seagate Technology. The world’s largest manufacturer of hard disc drives was a buy but is now forecast to underperform.
Tech stocks did have some bright spots, with chip maker AMD offsetting the weakness at Autodesk.
Elsewhere, Bank of America was the biggest riser on the Dow after billionaire John Paulson said that the bank’s share price will almost double in the next two years as write downs ease off.
Despite the housing starts figures, housebuilder Pulte Homes was wanted after Citigroup raised its recommendation on the stock from hold to buy and lifted its target price to $12 from $11.
LDK Solar, the Chinese maker of silicon wafers used in solar power cells, advanced after agreeing to sell a 15% stake in its polysilicon plant in Xinyu City, China for $219m. Elsewhere in the sector, First Solar was also shining brighter.
S&P 500 - Risers
Adv Micro Devices (AMD) $7.32 +10.57%
M B I A Inc. (MBI) $3.82 +10.09%
E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) $1.69 +9.03%
Monster Worldwide Inc. (MWW) $16.29 +7.10%
Slm Corp. (SLM) $11.51 +7.07%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $24.32 -9.91%
Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $30.20 -3.51%
Tenet Hlthcre Corp. (THC) $5.29 -3.29%
Eastman Kodak Co (EK) $4.13 -3.28%
N Y Times Class A (NYT) $9.25 -3.14%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Bank Of America Corp. (BAC) $16.35 +3.68%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $35.14 +2.48%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $18.19 +1.39%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $27.29 +1.11%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $54.15 +0.91%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $50.48 -1.64%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $68.81 -1.60%
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $27.26 -1.37%
3M Co. (MMM) $77.80 -1.24%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.12 -0.98%
