Stocks Finish the Day Mixed
With traders
seemingly reluctant to make any significant moves, the U.S. stock markets are
turning in a lackluster performance during trading on Friday. The
major averages have moved back and forth across the unchanged line to finish
nearly flat for the day.
Big movers in the blue chip Dow index included
Alcoa
(
AA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and General Motors
(
GM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), which gained 3.6% and 2.4%
respectively. IBM
(
IBM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and General Electric
(
GE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) led
the Dow losers today dropping 3.4% and 3%.
The price of oil showed a strong upward
move on Friday, as traders went bargain hunting following recent weakness. Crude
for February delivery closed up $1.51 at $51.99 after ending the previous
session at its worst closing level since May of 2005.
The price of gold also showed a strong
upward move during trading on Friday, with the precious metal more than
offsetting the price decrease that was seen in the previous session. Gold for
February delivery closed up $8.30 at $636.40 an ounce.
From
our new PowerRatings
Heat Maps*,
we are seeing the market becoming a bit more neutral today with no sectors
showing major strength or weakness.
Click here to learn more about PowerRatings Heat Maps and how they can help
you quickly gauge market direction.
Stocks on the Move
Alcoa
(
AA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) To Buy Back 87 Mln Shares, Boosts Dividend (full
story). AA shares rise 3.5%.
Citigroup
(
C |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Q4 Profit Falls 26% On Absence Of Year-ago Gain; Hikes
Dividend By 10% (full
story). C shares finish fractionally higher.
IBM
(
IBM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Q4 Earnings Rise, Top Estimates (full
story). IBM shares drop over 3%.
Motorola
(
MOT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Q4 Profit Slides On Weak Handset Sales, Revenues
Grow On Home Solutions Performance, Provides Q1 Sales Guidance (full
story). MOT shares gain 3%.
GE
(
GE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Q4 Profit More Than Doubles; EPS From Cont. Opns Matches
Street View; Guides Q1, Tightens FY07 EPS Forecast; To Dispose Plastics Business
(full
story). GE shares lose 2.7%.
JDS Uniphase
(
JDSU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Raises Q2 Revenue Outlook On Strong Growth In
Communications Test And Measurement Segment (full
story). JDSU shares jump 9.6%.
For more stories as they happen, go to our
Breaking News section.
Market Snapshot
|
Dow | -2.40 | 12,565.53 |
| NASDAQ | +8.10 | 2,451.31 |
|
S&P 500 | +4.13 | 1,430.50 |
|
NYSE |
| |
|
Volume | 2,724,455,000 | 2,020,852,000 |
|
| 2264 | 1836 |
|
Declines | 1010 | 1207 |
|
Up Volume | 1705 | 1162 |
|
Down Volume | 811 | 667 |
|
New Highs | 189 | 73 |
|
| 16 | 57 |
Strongest/Weakest Sectors
| Strongest Sectors | Weakest Sectors |
|
Deutsche Bank Energy Index (DXE) | Computer Hardware Index (HWI) |
Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI) | GSTI Hardware Index (GHA) |
Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG) | S&P Banking Index (BIX) |
Economic News
Michigan Sentiment 98 vs 92.4 consensus
Darren Wong
darrenw@tradingmarkets.com
P.S.
Click here to use PowerRatings to identify stocks that could potentially
move higher in the next few days.
* PowerRatings Heat Maps is a powerful tool, which can help you make sense of
the markets in an instant. For a free trial to PowerRatings Heat Maps
click
here.