Tell that to the homebuilders and retailers who depend on furnishing those "projected" new homes
And to the gold and bond buyers.
The markets aren't blindly loyal to a political party.
Next year we'll be in a pretty severe recession.
who's paying for the war?
who's backing all those marginal creative adjustable rate mortgages?
Who's paying to correct all the costly mistakes of Tush and his cronies?
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US stocks fall on rate worries; TI up on forecast
Wed Dec 7, 2005 05:40 PM ET
(Updates with reaction to Texas Instruments forecast)
By Jennifer Coogan
NEW YORK, Dec 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as financial and home building shares declined amid worries about rising interest rates, while shares of energy companies were dragged lower as oil slipped below $60 a barrel.
Exxon Mobil Inc. (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 1.3 percent to $58.94 on the NYSE, while the American Stock Exchange index of oil companies fell 0.9 percent.
Among the biggest drags on the S&P 500 index were financial stocks American International Group Inc. (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , which fell 0.8 percent to $65.91, and Bank of America Corp. (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , which was down 1 percent to $45.86.
Home builder KB Home's shares (KBH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 3.4 percent to $68.27. Shares of Lennar Corp., another home builder, dropped 3.1 percent to $56.58.
"The big issues today are interest rate worries," said Michael Panzner, head of sales trading at Rabo Securities. "Clearly it's tied to growing pessimism towards which way interest rates are heading."
A spate of robust economic reports have pointed to an economy that is growing stronger, raising the possibility of increasing inflation, while at the same time policymakers of the Federal Reserve will meet on Tuesday and are expected to boost short-term interest rates.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 45.95 points, or 0.42 percent, at 10,810.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 6.33 points, or 0.50 percent, at 1,257.37. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 8.75 points, or 0.39 percent, at 2,252.01.
After the market closed, Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , the world's top maker of chips used in mobile phones, forecast fourth-quarter results toward the high end of its previous outlook range on strong demand for semiconductors. Its shares rose 1.76 percent to $34.15 in after-hours trading. During the regular session they had gained 0.8 percent.
"I think this is turning out to be a good holiday-shopping season for electronics," said Ray Rund, managing director and head of research at Shaker Investments.
The world's largest chip maker, Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , slid 2 percent to $26.15 before its midquarter update on Thursday.
Shares of General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) ended higher after the publication Automotive News said on its Web site GM's board had invited a representative of billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian to join. GM shares gained 2.9 percent at $23.04 after falling earlier on news GM Chief Financial Officer John Devine would step down. [ID:nN06408495] Later, GM said it is in discussions with Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. for a seat on its board but declined further comment.
Shares of Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 0.9 percent to $8.18 after the Detroit News reported the automaker plans to cut 25,000 to 30,000 jobs in North America within five years and close at least 10 plants. [ID:nWEN5760]
U.S. crude for January delivery fell 73 cents to $59.21 a barrel after the government said crude supplies rose last week, defying forecasts of a drop. Crude had earlier traded as high as $60.68.
Chevron Corp. (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 1.1 percent to $59.32.
Industrial conglomerate ITT Industries Inc. (ITT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shares dropped 7.8 percent to $98.85 on the NYSE after Prudential Equity Group cut its rating on the stock.
Shares of WellPoint Inc. (WLP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 2.8 percent to $76.84 after the largest U.S. health insurer by membership forecast 2006 earnings that disappointed Wall Street expectations. [ID:nN06401837]
Trading was heavy on the NYSE, with about 1.58 billion shares changing hands, above last year's daily average of 1.46 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 1.75 billion shares traded, below last year's daily average of 1.81 billion.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 7 to 4 on the NYSE and by 8 to 5 on Nasdaq. |
