Star-Bulletin news services
Good economic data
fails to rally market
NEW YORK >> Wall Street retreated again yesterday, extending its losses into a fourth session despite better-than-expected earnings from The Home Depot and a brokerage firm upgrade for General Electric Co.
The market fluctuated for much of the day before turning lower in the final hours of trading, although some retailers, semiconductor issues and communications firms saw gains. Given relatively good news, Wall Street's inability to advance after three days of declines was discouraging, said Richard A. Dickson, senior market strategist at Lowry's Research Reports in Palm Beach, Fla.
"We're struggling to make gains, and that could mean that we are looking at perhaps the most significant pullback since the market started to rally back in March," Dickson said.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 86.67, or 0.9 percent, at 9,624.16, for a four-day loss of 224.67. Terror fears contributed to market losses around the world on Monday.
The Nasdaq composite index ended the day down 27.86, or 1.5 percent, at 1,881.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 9.48, or 0.9 percent, to end at 1,034.15.
Decliners edged advancers on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was lighter, with 1.71 billion shares traded, compared with 1.73 billion shares on Monday.
The Russell 2000 index ended down 4.53, or 0.9 percent, at 521.68. The NYSE composite index fell 3.68, or 0.7 percent, to 553.04. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 1.10, or 0.1 percent, to 1,072.58.
The two-year Treasury note gained 1/32 to 99 2332, with its yield falling 2 basis points to 1.76 percent. The 10-year note was unchanged at 100 2832, with its yield remaining at 4.14 percent.
In Washington, a Labor Department report found consumer prices were flat in October as falling costs of gasoline and other energy products canceled out the biggest jump in beef and veal prices in 24 years.
The Consumer Price Index, the government's closely watched inflation barometer, showed overall prices eased in October, following four consecutive months of increases. Economists were expecting a tiny 0.1 percent increase in overall prices.
Among yesterday's advancers, GE gained 63 cents to close at $28.44 after Merrill Lynch upgraded the conglomerate from a "buy" from a "neutral," and set a $33 price target, citing a shift toward higher-growth, higher-return businesses. GE rose another 6 cents in after-hours trading after it announced plans for an initial public offering of most of its life and mortgage insurance operations. The future public company would be called Genworth Financial Inc.
The Home Depot lost 52 cents at $34.95, despite beating analysts' forecasts with a 22 percent jump in third-quarter earnings. The nation's largest home improvement chain also raised its full-year earnings projection.
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