Stocks Defy Bad News, UBS Insider Jailed, Autos Crushed
Stocks closed mixed despite negative economic news on the eve of the U.S. Presidential elections. Auto sales were crushed with GM and Ford announcing the worst quarter since 1945. Manufacturing figures indicate a similar contraction as the ISM’s Factory Index fell to a low not seen since 1982. Adding to an already gloomy Monday, executive director Michael Guttenberg of UBS, was sentenced to a 78 month prison sentence for leaking information used in an insider trading scheme netting millions. Stocks defied the waves of bad news with the indexes closing mostly flat on the day in a tight trading session. The DJIA slipped -5.18 to 9319.83, the Nasdaq added +5.38 to 1726.33 and the broad based S&P 500 dipped -2.45 to 966.30
Burger King
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PowerRating) – The burger giant climbed 9.36% or $1.82 to $21.71/share after Wachovia increased its outlook to outperform from market perform.
DryShips
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PowerRating) – The Greek shipping company added 14.86% or $2.85 to $22.10/share upon announcing an astounding 71% profit increase due to higher shipping rates and an increased fleet.
Hartford Financial Services
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Polo Ralph Lauren
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PowerRating) – The popular American clothier climbed 0.89% or 0.45 cents to $47.62/share on a Goldman downgrade.
Gold added $8.60 to $726.80 and oil gave back another $3.90 to $64.36
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