| The Dow Extends Its Winning Streak Ahead of Earnings |
| Jan-15-2013 |
| Keywords: stocks, debt, apple, facebook, debt ceiling, earnings |
Stocks today ended a choppy trading session mostly higher, with the blue-chip index tallying its fifth straight gain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 28 points. The Nasdaq Composite meanwhile slipped 7 points. The S&P 500 finished up a point and a half.
Many investors today took up defensive positions ahead of a barrage of bank earnings due out tomorrow. A note of caution from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also sidelined some investors. Treasury Secretary Geithner informing Congress late Monday that the U.S. is likely to run out of borrowing authority between mid-February and early March.
Meanwhile great news on consumer spending offered comfort to others. Retail sales jumped 0.5% in December, topping the 0.2% expected. Excluding the auto sales, retail receipts rose 0.3%, slightly higher than the expected 0.2% gain.
Producer prices ticked declined 0.2% in December. The stepper than expected decline coming as food prices took their biggest fall since May 2011. Excluding the food and energy, core prices rose 0.1%, which was inline with estimates.
And the Empire State's manufacturing index in January remains in contraction for a sixth straight month.
Hewlett-Packard Co. fell 2.5%, the biggest decliner in the Dow, while Microsoft Corp. rose 1.2%, the biggest gainer in the blue-chip benchmark.
Apple's issues continue to weight on its market cap. Its shares dropped 3.2%, making it the biggest laggard on the S&P 500.
Facebook unveiled its new "Graph Search" feature. Shares of the social-networking company fell 2.7%, as the hype leading up to the announcement didn't live up to expectations. News from MarketWatch.com that Facebook lost 1.4 million U.S. users in early December also weighed on Facebook's stock price. |
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Posted by Lou Dobbs Staff at 12:00 PM Email to a friend |
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