Only one economy data for tonite just out below ..... Earnings have been leading US market this week. Dow down 18 points and Nasdaq down 3 points now ....
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday after an earnings forecast from technology icon Apple Inc. disappointed investors, weighing heavily on shares throughout the tech sector.
"Tech is the whole story today," said Art Hogan, market strategist at Jefferies & Co, commenting on accelerating losses in the Nasdaq Composite in afternoon trade.
The tech-heavy index closed down 36.21 points, or almost 1.5%, at 2,443.21, while Apple's stock slumped 6.3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 9.22 points at 12,567.93 and the S&P 500 index closed off 4.25 points at 1,426.37.
"Our concern is focused on what earnings growth looks like for 2007 and, so far, it doesn't appear to be a pretty picture," Hogan said.
Weakness was seen in the Dow's tech components: Intel Corp., IBM and Hewlett-Packard Co..
Among the few gainers were telecom stocks Verizon Communications and AT&T Inc. and drug giants Merck & Co. Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.
Home Depot Inc. also helped, rising 1.4% after positive data on housing.
Energy shares, such as Exxon Mobil Corp., weighed on the broad market as crude oil reversed early gains to fall sharply.
The price of a barrel of oil plunged $1.76, or 3.4%, to close at $50.48 after bearish weekly U.S. inventories data. Also, the International Energy Agency cut its forecasts of oil demand, citing a mild winter and a slowing U.S. economy.
Financial shares provided mild support after Merrill Lynch reported earnings flew past expectations. But even the brokerage giant's stock gave up early gains and closed down 1.5% at $95.40.
Most of the heavy selling that hit the technology sector was related to Apple's results, which were released late Wednesday.
Although profit soared past expectations, Apple's forecast for the current quarter fell shy of analyst estimates.See full story. J.P. Morgan also cut its rating on Apple's stock to neutral from overweight.
The disappointment is the second blow in so many days for the technology sector, which had been leading the market since the start of the year. On Wednesday, Intel dipped 6% after its forecast also left investors disappointed.
In the broad market for equities, trading volume was more than 1.61 billion on the New York Stock Exchange and over 2.4 billion on the Nasdaq stock market. Declining issues topped advancers by 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by 3 to 1 on the Nasdaq.
US market still only slight red. Looks like bull is not shaken so much by PPI data. Dow down 4 points and Nasdaq down 4 points now.
No problem, Elf ... Will do CSM closing in Nasdaq by 7am tomorrow ya. Got up early this morning to check Intel's Q4 earning after US closed as it would affect chip stocks today.
Flowers for Valentine's Day? Ok, I will draw lots of roses for you. :P .... Nitezzz ya
hm...if this goes on will seriously consider pulling all funds out of market soon.
zzz...billywows...would you mind doing me a favour? I'd like CSM results in nasdaq for tonight, if you happen to be doing a 6am post again (?! why are you awake at that time?!).
and ahaha, *lazy drawl* sure, sweetheart, i'll be expecting your flower come feb 14th. ;)
Investors will also keep an eye on the continued slide in crude oil prices, which has weighed on the energy sector. Early Wednesday, a barrel was losing 80 cents, or 1.5%, to $50.41, another 20-month low.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 13 points at 12,615, while those for the S&P 500 index dropped 2.20 points to 1,436.
Futures dipped after news that producer prices rose 0.9% in December, higher than the 0.6% expected by economists.
Markets have been hoping that receding inflation will allow the Federal Reserve to soon cut interest rates and boost growth. But a string of stronger-than-expected economic reports in recent weeks has dampened those hopes.
The PPI report, meanwhile, gave a lift to the dollar, which benefits if rates stay higher, while pressuring Treasury bonds, which lose value when inflation rises. Gold, meanwhile, also lost ground as the dollar advanced.
2045hrs: Retail chain index 2130hrs: Producer price index 2130hrs: PPI ex. food and energy 2200hrs: Net foreign purchases 2215hrs: Industrial production 2215hrs: Capacity utilization 2330hrs: Energy Dept. oil stocks 0300hrs: Fed beige book
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 26.51 points at 12,582.59.
The S&P 500 index closed up 1.17 point at 1,431.90, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 5.04 points to 2,497.78.
Intel Corp. helped lift blue chips, rebounding from early weakness ahead of its earnings after the close. The stock has rallied nearly 10% since the start of the year.
"It's a waiting game right now in the market," said Stephen Sachs, head of trading at Rydex Investments. "This is a big week on both the economic front, with numbers on inflation and housing, and on the earnings front, starting with Intel after the close."
Dampening enthusiasm for the tech sector, shares of Symantec dipped over 12% after the software maker's earnings forecasts fell shy of expectations.
Exxon Mobil Corp. also pressured the Dow, losing 1.4% after crude oil prices continued a recent tumble.
On the upside, Dupont and IBM led gains for blue chips. General Electric Co. also helped, rising 0.6% after it agreed to buy the aerospace business of Britain's Smiths Group for $4.8 billion.
Also weighing on tech stocks, Cisco Systems Inc.fell 3% after being downgraded by both Banc of America and Prudential.
Tech shares have been leading the market since the start of the year and the tech sector is led by chip makers, giving Intel's results after the close a particular weight. Last week, fellow chip-maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. dipped nearly 10% after it warned that lower selling prices have hurt results.
Besides Intel, the market will also pay close attention to results from other tech bellwethers such as IBM and Apple Inc., which report later this week.
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