 |
| A board at the New York Stock Exchange displays the Dow Jones Industrial Average soon after the opening bell, February 8, 2010. The Dow has been teetering above and below the 10,000 range throughout the trading day.(Xinhua/Reuters) |
NEW YORK, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Dow average closed below 10,000 points level for the first time since last November on Monday as European debt crisis triggered a heavy sell-off in financials.
As of market closing, the Dow Jones fell 103.84, or 1.04 percent, to 9,908.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 9.45, or 0.89 percent, to 1,056.74 and the Nasdaq lost 15.07, or 0.70 percent, to 2,126.05.
Two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 1.1 billion shares compared with 1.6 billion shares Friday.
Concerns over the debt situation in Europe, which spurred jitters in the market and led to big sell-offs last week, still weighed on the market on Monday.
Soaring budget deficit in several weaker European economies including Greece, Portugal and Spain exacerbated investors' worries about the health of the global financial system. Banking shares were among the top laggers on Monday.
U.S. stocks started to retreat in the second half of January when President Barack Obama proposed tighter regulation over big financial institutions. Investors were uneasy about the details of new rules and how they will affect the market.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will begin to lay out a blueprint for a credit tightening this week. Many expect that if Fed believes the economic recovery is sufficient enough, it will consider a gradual increase in the interest rate on excess reserves, the interest Fed pays banks on money they leave on reserve at the central bank which currently stands at 0.25 percent.
|
|
| A sign for the NASDAQ Market site is seen in New York's Times Square, Feb. 8, 2010. The trans-Atlantic exchange operator reported a lower fourth quarter profit before one-time items, hurt by sluggish trading and lower market share compared to a year ago. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
The dollar weakened against both the euro and the Japanese yen on Monday, boosting commodities prices. Crude oil climbed 70 cents to settle close to 72 U.S. dollars. Gold futures also rallied. Energy and material shares rose.
Major indexes turned positive in late morning trading, boosted by upbeat earnings. Toy maker Hasbro rallied 12.7 percent after reporting a 77 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit to 165.6 million dollars, or 1.09 dollars a share, easily beating estimates.
CVS Caremark rose 5.3 percent to 32.72 dollars a share after reporting an 11 percent rise in net profit to 1.05 billion dollars, and exceeding forecasts for seasonal earnings.
|
|
| Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Feb. 8, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
Nasdaq OMX Group dropped nearly four percent despite beating topping analysts' expectations. Nasdaq's fourth-quarter earnings rose 23 percent amid prior-year write downs and currency impacts. Earnings of 46 cents per share and a net revenue of 369 million dollars were better than average forecasts, but the decline in revenue disappointed investors.
In company news, Home Depot gained 2.2 percent after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight.
 |
| A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, February 8, 2010.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
Related:
European debt concerns drive dollar higher during past week
NEW YORK, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The dollar rose against most major currencies during the past week as concerns over European sovereign debt problems boosted safety haven demand for the greenback.
Investors worried that the debt crisis may spread from Greece to other countries, threatening major economies of the eurozone. This is the toughest test for the euro since the single currency was launched in 1999, analysts said. Full story
U.S. stocks fall as European debt worries weigh
NEW YORK, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed lower after a choppy session on Monday as worries about the debt crises in Europe outweighed upbeat earnings reports.
Dow settled below 10,000 points level for the first time since November, while S&P and Nasdaq lost more than 0.5 percent. Full story
U.S. unemployment drops to 9.7% in January
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. unemployment rate in January fell unexpectedly to 9.7 percent from 10 percent, a Labor Department report said on Friday.
The report says a survey of employers found they cut 20,000 jobs last month, the same figure as in December 2009. Full story
