In this Feb. 3, 2012 photo, trader Joseph Tarangelo, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Markets were in a jittery mood on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, as talks dragged on between Greek political leaders over a fresh austerity package that is required if the debt-ridden country is to get a crucial bailout package. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
In this Feb. 3, 2012 photo, trader Joseph Tarangelo, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Markets were in a jittery mood on Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, as talks dragged on between Greek political leaders over a fresh austerity package that is required if the debt-ridden country is to get a crucial bailout package. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are edging lower in midday trading Monday as talks drag on between Greek political leaders over a fresh austerity package required for the country to get more bailout loans.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 43 points to 12,819 shortly after noon Eastern time. American Express Co. led the Dow lower, losing 1.6 percent.
Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ, said he thinks investors are starting to realize the stock market is vulnerable to a big drop. Trading has been subdued compared with the wild swings of 2011. The S&P has closed up or down by more than 1 percent only three times since the year began. In December, that happened nine times.
"I look at it like a very low tide warning of an impending tsunami," Stovall said of the recent calm stretch. "We're setting ourselves up for a decline, the sort of decline that would make you sit up and take notice," he said.
In other trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3 points to 1,341. The Nasdaq composite fell 8 points to 2,896. All three major stock indexes were down by 0.3 percent.
The declines follow a big gain Friday after a surprisingly good U.S. employment report. Large gains in the stock market are often followed by modest moves, as traders pull some of their winnings off the table. On average since 1950, whenever the S&P rose by 1 percent or more in a trading day, the index has inched up just 0.1 percent the next day, according to S&P Capital IQ.
In Greece, talks between the prime minister and leaders of parties backing his coalition government were postponed for a day, even as European leaders prodded the government to push through new spending cuts, layoffs and other austerity measures.
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Greek leaders that they need to push through new reforms or risk letting the country go bankrupt. Greece is hoping the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission will release a second installment of ?130 billion ($171 billion) in bailout loans. Without that money, Greece will likely default when a ?14.5 billion ($19.1 billion) bond repayment comes due March 20.
Among companies making big moves:
? Boeing Co. fell 1.3 percent following reports that the company found a problem in its 787 Dreamliner.
? Netflix Inc. fell 0.4 percent after Verizon Communications and Coinstar Inc. said they will launch a video-streaming service later this year, a challenge to Netflix. Coinstar is the parent of Redbox, a DVD rental company. Coinstar rose 1 percent and Verizon less than 1 percent.
? Micron Technology Inc. fell 2.5 percent following news that the chip maker's CEO died in a plane crash. Steve Appleton, 51, was at the helm for 18 years, leading the only company he'd ever worked for.
? Humana dropped 5.3 percent, the biggest loss in the S&P 500 index. The health insurance company reported revenue that fell short of analysts' expectations. Humana also raised its earnings outlook for 2012 but that, too, was below analysts' forecast.
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