Portfolio Crafter
11-22-2007, 02:37 AM
End of Day Market Summary - Wednesday, November 21, 2007
by Portfolio Crafter (http://www.wealthpire.com/cmd.php?Clk=1838416)
Stocks slid to close sharply lower as worries about bad home loans, a slumping dollar and oil near $100 a barrel led traders to take money out of the market ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Dow closed at a 7 month low ahead of what for many will be a long holiday weekend.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 211.10 or 1.62% to 12,799.04, the broader S&P 500 closed down 22.93 or 1.59% to 1,416.17, and the tech-fueled Nasdaq composite closed down 34.66 or 1.33% to 2,562.15.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by 23 to 8 on volume of nearly 1.61 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by 5 to 2 as 2.07 billion shares changed hands.
Today's broad sell off included homebuilders, banks, mortgage lenders and technology shares. It appears as if the weight of the sub prime worries and the credit crunch is coming home to roost. Friday is important for stocks and the economy in that it is Black Friday, the kickoff for the critical holiday shopping season. The sluggish 2008 economic outlook has confirmed other recent signs of a slowdown. Additionally, the Mortgage Banker's Association reported a 3.6% drop in applications last week, with 47 of the 50 states seeing a drop in existing home sales in the third quarter. There is also some worry that the Federal Reserve is behind in addressing these issues. Policy makers meeting on Dec. 11 are widely expected to cut the fed funds rate by a quarter-percentage point.
In economic news, the October index of Leading Economic Indicators fell 0.5%, after rising 0.1% in the previous month, suggesting that the economic slowdown could accelerate in the months ahead. The November consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan showed a rise to 76.1 from an initial reading of 75.0, but was down from last month's 80.9.
Stock of Gap Inc. closed down $1.24 or 6.14% to $18.96, despite stating that third-quarter profit surged 26% as it lowered marketing costs and controlled inventory to offset declining comparable-store sales. It lowered about $75 million in marketing expenses and reduced inventory per square foot.
Shares of Limited Brands Inc. closed up $0.42 or 2.40% to $17.95, after reporting a 48% profit drop and cutting its current quarterly earnings estimate, blaming a challenging retail environment.
Stock of GM closed up $0.10 or 0.38% to $26.39, after reports said that GMAC, its struggling former finance unit, is taking steps to keep its mortgage unit alive.
Shares of Credit Suisse Group closed down $0.82 or 1.43% to $56.59, after Goldman Sachs lowered the bank's rating to sell from neutral after anticipating less global growth and more skepticism toward the value of its capital-markets businesses.
U.S. light crude oil for January delivery fell 74 cents to settle at $97.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after having hit a record high of $99.23 in electronic overnight trading. Oil prices got volatile after the release of the weekly oil inventories report, which showed a surprise drop in crude supplies.
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by Portfolio Crafter (http://www.wealthpire.com/cmd.php?Clk=1838416)
Stocks slid to close sharply lower as worries about bad home loans, a slumping dollar and oil near $100 a barrel led traders to take money out of the market ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Dow closed at a 7 month low ahead of what for many will be a long holiday weekend.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 211.10 or 1.62% to 12,799.04, the broader S&P 500 closed down 22.93 or 1.59% to 1,416.17, and the tech-fueled Nasdaq composite closed down 34.66 or 1.33% to 2,562.15.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by 23 to 8 on volume of nearly 1.61 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by 5 to 2 as 2.07 billion shares changed hands.
Today's broad sell off included homebuilders, banks, mortgage lenders and technology shares. It appears as if the weight of the sub prime worries and the credit crunch is coming home to roost. Friday is important for stocks and the economy in that it is Black Friday, the kickoff for the critical holiday shopping season. The sluggish 2008 economic outlook has confirmed other recent signs of a slowdown. Additionally, the Mortgage Banker's Association reported a 3.6% drop in applications last week, with 47 of the 50 states seeing a drop in existing home sales in the third quarter. There is also some worry that the Federal Reserve is behind in addressing these issues. Policy makers meeting on Dec. 11 are widely expected to cut the fed funds rate by a quarter-percentage point.
In economic news, the October index of Leading Economic Indicators fell 0.5%, after rising 0.1% in the previous month, suggesting that the economic slowdown could accelerate in the months ahead. The November consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan showed a rise to 76.1 from an initial reading of 75.0, but was down from last month's 80.9.
Stock of Gap Inc. closed down $1.24 or 6.14% to $18.96, despite stating that third-quarter profit surged 26% as it lowered marketing costs and controlled inventory to offset declining comparable-store sales. It lowered about $75 million in marketing expenses and reduced inventory per square foot.
Shares of Limited Brands Inc. closed up $0.42 or 2.40% to $17.95, after reporting a 48% profit drop and cutting its current quarterly earnings estimate, blaming a challenging retail environment.
Stock of GM closed up $0.10 or 0.38% to $26.39, after reports said that GMAC, its struggling former finance unit, is taking steps to keep its mortgage unit alive.
Shares of Credit Suisse Group closed down $0.82 or 1.43% to $56.59, after Goldman Sachs lowered the bank's rating to sell from neutral after anticipating less global growth and more skepticism toward the value of its capital-markets businesses.
U.S. light crude oil for January delivery fell 74 cents to settle at $97.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after having hit a record high of $99.23 in electronic overnight trading. Oil prices got volatile after the release of the weekly oil inventories report, which showed a surprise drop in crude supplies.
Join PortfolioCrafter.com (http://www.wealthpire.com/cmd.php?Clk=1838416)
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