Stocks Decline to Session Lows at Midday; IBM Hits 52-Wk Low
Tuesday Jul 18 2006 13:47:04 EDT
Ridgeland, MS, JUL 18, 2006 (EventX/Knobias.com via COMTEX) --
Stocks gave up their opening gains and declined to session lows at midday (Dow -60.20, Nasdaq -21.33, S&P -8.27), as rising oil prices and Middle East tensions outweighed any positive sentiment from earlier earnings reports. Oil moved higher to $75.70. Treasury prices slumped, lifting the yield on the 10-year note to 5.13% from 5.06% on Monday. The NAHB index for sales of new, single-family homes fell to 39 in July from 42 in June, its lowest point since December 1991. The dollar strengthened as gold continues yesterday's decline to $634 today. Energy is the only sector with significant gains at midday. Shares of TGT (-5.4%) fell to a 22-month low today and dragged other retail stocks down (ANF -5.6%, JCP -5.1%, KSS -4.1%, FD -4.4%, AEOS -5.6%, SHLD -2.4%). Tech stocks have also been weaker. IBM (-1.0%) slipped to a 52-week low ahead of today's earnings report after the bell.
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