US stocks mixed amid uncertainty
Wall Street staggered to a narrowly mixed finish today after last week’s sell-offs.
Stocks struggled to find a bottom after three triple-digit drops in the Dow Jones industrials in a row, but sharply fluctuating prices and the lack of a solid recovery rally added to investors’ continued nervousness about the possibility of inflation in the middle of a projected slowdown in economic growth.
“After you see a decline of the magnitude we saw on Friday, you’d expect some degree of recovery, but we’re not seeing much, and that’s very uninspiring,” said Hugh Johnson, chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors. “This makes me believe that we may have further to go before we find a bottom here.”
The Dow fell 16.26, or 0.2%, to 10,071.25 after losing 420 points the past three sessions.
Broader stock indicators edged higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 3.36, or 0.3%, at 1,145.98, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 4.77, or 0.2%, to 1,912.92.
Oil prices moved in and out of negative territory, adding to Wall Street’s uncertainty. A barrel of light crude closed at 50.37, down 12 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Bonds were lower after last week’s rally, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.27% from 4.24% late on Friday. The dollar fell against most major currencies, while gold prices rose.
The volatility and lighter volume in stocks were due in part to a pair of economic reports coming later in the week – tomorrow’s Producer Price Index, which measures wholesale price increases, and its retail counterpart, the Consumer Price Index, on Wednesday. Many analysts have projected slower economic growth for the second half of the year – and if the reports point to a rise in prices, slower growth could turn into no growth.
“These are very important reports, and it’s not surprising that investors would pay considerable attention to them,” said Jack Caffrey, equities strategist at JP Morgan Private Bank. “This will forecast the state of the economy and what the Federal Reserve might do with interest rates, and it’s not surprising investors would be skittish taking large positions in front of that.”
Inflation worries have dogged the markets since early March, when it appeared the Dow might reach the 11,000 mark. Now, with the Dow threatening to fall below 10,000 for the first time since October 26, investors are looking to economic data and the Fed’s May 3 meeting for signs of improvement and a better read on the economy and interest rates. The Fed is expected to raise US interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 3% at the meeting.
In merger news, Adobe Systems announced it would pay 3.4 billion in stock to acquire fellow software maker Macromedia, combining the latter’s Web-design software with Adobe’s document design offerings. Adobe dropped 5.89, or 9.7%, to 54.77, while Macromedia climbed 3.27, or 8.5%, to 36.72.
Electronics Boutique Holdings surged 14.09, or 34.3%, to 54.78 after the video game and software retailer said it would be acquired by rival GameStop for 1.44 billion in cash and stock, a 34% premium over Electronics Boutique’s closing price on Friday. GameStop rose 2.10 to 23.71.
Bank of America saw a sharp rise in first-quarter profits thanks to the acquisition of FleetBoston and lower credit costs. The US’s third-largest bank beat Wall Street profit forecasts by 17 cents per share after one-time costs. Bank of America rose 45 cents to 44.73.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was heavy.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 4.55, or 0.8%, at 585.33.
World markets dropped precipitously, a reaction to Friday’s US losses. Japan’s Nikkei stock average tumbled 3.8% as the Tokyo markets also reacted to worsening relations with China. In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed down 1.32%, Germany’s DAX index shed 2.55%, and France’s CAC-40 dropped 2.05% for the session.
