Positive News Isn’t Enough…
Four stocks fell for every three that rose
on the NYSE and
the Nasdaq. Some 832 million shares traded on the Big Board, up 2.5% from a week ago.
Stocks rose in morning trading after the Institute for Supply Management’s
index for retail, financial services, construction and other non-manufacturing
businesses rose to 53.9 last month from 50.9 in August.
Analysts had expected
51.5. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. This news wasn’t enough to keep
the indexes positive, as they turned lower about midday. The three major market indices are dropping for the fourth day in
five.
Leading the drag on the indices are financial shares caused by the Bank
of New York
(
BK |
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PowerRating) which said that profits lagged forecasts because of bad
loans. Citigroup
(
C |
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PowerRating) and Bank of America
(
BAC |
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PowerRating) contributed
most to the decline, and financial stocks are responsible for almost three-quarters of the
S&P 500’s
(
$SPX.X |
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PowerRating) loss so
far.
At the midway point, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU |
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PowerRating)
was lower by 0.6%, to around 7708.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index
(
$COMPQ |
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PowerRating) 1.5%, to 1169.11, with Veritas Software
(
VRTS |
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PowerRating)
leading the decline.
Bank of New York
(
BK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) slumped $3.46 to $23.30. The oldest U.S. bank
triggered the declines after saying earnings lagged forecasts in the third
quarter because of bad loans to the struggling telecommunications industry.
Goldman Sachs Group
(
GS |
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News |
PowerRating) lost $1.86 to $63.69 and Citigroup
(
C |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) shed $1.07 to $28.53. A congressional committee is looking at how the
securities firms allocated stock of IPOs they managed to
clients including executives at EBay and Global Crossing.
Merrill Lynch
(
MER |
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News |
PowerRating). lost $1.65 to $31.50, Morgan Stanley
(
MWD |
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PowerRating)
$2.12 to $31.88 and Lehman Brothers
(
LEH |
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News |
PowerRating) declined $2.18 to $46.96.
Veritas Software
(
VRTS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) tumbled $2.11 to $12.39. Kenneth Lonchar
resigned as CFO after the maker of data-storage computer programs said he
falsely claimed to have a MBA from Stanford University.
Advanced Micro Devices
(
AMD |
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PowerRating) fell $1.44 to $3.93. The Intel
(
INTC |
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PowerRating) rival said slack demand and increasing inventory caused
third-quarter sales to drop more than forecast.
DuPont
(
DD |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose 73 cents to $38.04. The second-largest U.S
chemical maker estimated third-quarter profit of 35 cents to 37 cents a share,
excluding one-time costs. A lower-than-expected tax bill boosted earnings above
a forecast of 24 cents.
Nasdaq Market Breadth
Adv: 1195 UpVol: 2573680
Dec: 1822 DnVol: 6184578
Net: -627 Net: -3610898
NYSE Market Breadth
Adv: 1284 UpVol: 2945048
Dec: 1805 DnVol: 6682488
Net: -521 Net: -3737440