NEW YORK, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks fell on Monday, as commodities prices were pressured by a rising dollar and financial shares tumbled.
Shares erased early gains and turned negative as a drop in oil prices sent energy and basic material shares lower. Crude futures lost 2.3 percent to settle below 79 U.S. dollars a barrel in New York as the dollar rebounded from a 14-month low against the euro. Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips were hurt.
Performance of financial sector was weak. Rochdale Securities bank analyst Dick Bove downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp, SunTrust Banks Inc. and U.S. Bancorp, which refreshed investors' concern about banks. Bove's decision of lowering Wells Fargo & Co. to a "sell" last Wednesday had triggered a sell-off in financials and led the big board sharply lower.
Technology sector fared better than other parts of the market as JPMorgan Chase raised share price estimate of Microsoft Corp. Meanwhile, chip maker Marvell Technology raised its fiscal third-quarter revenue forecast.
In earnings, Dow component Verizon Communications reported a 30 percent drop in third quarter's profit but still beat analysts' expectations. RadioShack Corp.'s third-quarter sales topped expectations, giving a boost to retailers.
The Dow Jones fell 104.22, or 1.05 percent, to 9,867.96. Broader indexes also tumbled. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 12.66, or 1.17 percent, to 1,066.94 and the Nasdaq dipped 12.62, or 0.59 percent, to 2,141.85.
Gold declines sharply as dollar soars
CHICAGO, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed much lower and touched a 3-week low on Monday as U.S. dollar strongly recovered from its 14-month low. Silver and platinum both dropped.
The most active gold contract for December delivery dropped 13.60 U.S. dollars, or 1.3 percent, to finish at 1,042.80 dollars an ounce. It tumbled to as low as 1,041.10 dollars shortly before pit trading closed. That is also the weakest level since Oct. 7. Full story
Oil falls most in a month as dollar strengthens
NEW YORK, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Crude prices fell the most in a month on Monday as the U.S. dollar rebounded after hitting a 14-month low, limiting investors' need to hedge against inflations.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 1.82 U.S. dollars, or 2.3 percent, to settle at 78.68 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Full story
Two Dow Jones regional indexes licensed to Canadian ETFs
NEW YORK, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Two regional Dow Jones Indexes were licensed in connection with Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) for the first time, the leading index provider announced here on Monday.
According to a company statement, the Canadian dollar-hedged version of the Dow Jones Developed Markets ex-North America Index and Dow Jones Emerging Markets Total Stock Market Specialty Index have been licensed to BMO Financial Group in connection with the BMO ETFs. Full story
Dollar rises amid weak European data
NEW YORK, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The dollar rose against the euro and other major currencies on Monday after a worse-than-expected Germany consumer sentiment report hurt risk appetite in currency trading.
The GfK economic research institute reported on Monday that its forward-looking Germany consumer sentiment index fell to 4.0 for November from a downwardly revised reading of 4.2 for October. It was the first decline of the index since September 2008. Analysts forecasted an increase to 4.5 points for November. Full story
Wall Street erases gains as financials retreat
NEW YORK, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street pared early gains and traded mixed Monday, as energy shares were off the best level and financials lost ground.
Exxon Mobil Corp. reined in gains after climbing nearly 2 percent as the dollar reached a 14-month low versus the euro in early trading, helping crude oil snap a two-day losing streak.Full story
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