| CATEGORY: MARKET REPORT - US |
US midday: Dow stays below 10,000 |
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Fri 05 Feb 2010
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LONDON (SHARECAST) - The Dow is still below the 10,000 mark but it started to recover just before lunchtime. The ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe and unemployment news remain uppermost in investors’ minds.
The Euro has fallen to its lowest level against the dollar since last May. That improvement in the dollar hit oil prices which have dipped below $70/barrel.
The US unemployment rate fell to 9.7% from 10% but 20,000 employees lost their jobs in January. Both changes were against expectations. Payrolls had been tipped to climb slightly during the month but the unemployment rate was also expected to edge up.
The fall in the rate of unemployment was due to a rise in the number of people who have given up looking for work.
The Dow Jones is down 43 at 9,959, the Nasdaq is off less than 1 at 2,125, while the broader S&P 500 has dropped 5 to 1,058.
On the corporate front, health insurer Aetna has issued disappointing earnings guidance for 2010. The company said earnings per share are likely to be in the $2.55 to $2.65 range, compared to market consensus of $2.84.
Airgas is the biggest riser on the S&P after news broke that Air Products & Chemicals has made an unsolicited bid approach for the industrial gases company. Air Products, which is proposing terms worth $60 per share, has been rebuffed in two previous approaches to the Airgas board and said that this time it is prepared to take the offer straight to shareholders.
In contrast to Airgas, Air Products was the biggest faller on the S&P.
A profit warning hit financial information publisher Dun & Bradstreet. The company said that underlying earnings per share (EPS) in 2010 would be $5.75 at best; the market had been expecting EPS of $5.86.
East coast oil refiner Sunoco reported an adjusted fourth quarter loss per share of 27 cents, slightly worse than the 25 cents per share loss the market had been expecting.
Meat producer Tyson Foods reported better than expected first quarter profit.
Broker comment undermined retailer Nordstrom. Goldman Sachs was cut to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’.
Elsewhere, Toyota’s president and grandson of the company’s founder, Akio Toyoda, today apologised to the drivers affected by the recall of over 8m of its cars.
It was Toyoda’s first public appearance since the carmaker began recalling cars because of ‘sticky’ accelerator pedals two weeks ago.
S&P 500 - Risers
Airgas Inc. (ARG) $60.43 +38.82%
MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) $12.40 +6.90%
Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) $22.44 +5.35%
Tyson Foods Inc. Class A (TSN) $14.72 +5.22%
Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG) $71.95 +3.60%
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $28.70 +3.57%
FMC Corp. (FMC) $52.54 +3.43%
Perkin Elmer Inc. (PKI) $20.49 +3.38%
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) $36.41 +3.20%
CME Group Inc. (CME) $276.74 +2.77%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Air Products Chem (APD) $68.48 -7.07%
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) $13.72 -5.25%
The Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (DNB) $73.79 -5.08%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $33.53 -4.50%
GANNETT CO INC (GCI) $13.07 -4.32%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $75.25 -4.30%
Textron Inc. (TXT) $18.78 -3.99%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $42.55 -3.98%
Goodyear Tire Rubber (GT) $12.39 -3.95%
N Y Times Class A (NYT) $11.56 -3.87%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.58 +1.81%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.29 +1.42%
AT&T Inc. (T) $25.22 +0.76%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $50.06 +0.66%
Du Pont E I De Nemours and Co. (DD) $32.73 +0.64%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $51.68 +0.54%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $53.16 +0.36%
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $28.46 +0.25%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $27.89 +0.18%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $12.93 +0.15%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
General Electric Co. (GE) $15.58 -2.88%
Boeing Co. (BA) $58.07 -2.11%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $37.74 -1.59%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $70.36 -1.42%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $36.65 -1.21%
3M Co. (MMM) $78.42 -1.00%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $29.38 -0.98%
Bank Of America Corp. (BAC) $14.61 -0.95%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $63.47 -0.92%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $64.23 -0.76%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $28.70 +3.57%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $12.06 +2.20%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $32.85 +1.86%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.58 +1.81%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $23.47 +1.56%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $45.87 +1.48%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.29 +1.42%
Altera Corp. (ALTR) $21.46 +1.42%
Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) $17.19 +1.24%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $31.19 +1.10%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Foster Wheeler AG (FWLT) $26.13 -5.50%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $35.05 -4.29%
Logitech International S.A. (LOGI) $15.60 -2.68%
Virgin Media Inc. (VMED) $13.83 -2.40%
Qiagen N.V. (QGEN) $20.67 -2.34%
News Corp. Class A (NWSA) $12.78 -2.29%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $37.56 -2.24%
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW) $52.13 -2.10%
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Ads (TEVA) $56.89 -1.78%
Cephalon Inc. (CEPH) $63.88 -1.72%
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