U.S. Stocks Tumble On Credit Concerns

Investors’ fears were brought to life Thursday morning as news
surfaced that problems with the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis have
spilled over into Europe. Markets on both sides are taking a hit
as investors grapple with the ripple effects from a deeply
troubled U.S. lending market.

In a statement released this morning French bank BNB Paribas
announced they were forced to suspend three funds worth a total of
$2.75 billion in USD. The bank said that the “complete evaporation
of liquidity” in areas of the U.S. lending market was the culprit
behind the freezing of the funds.

BNB Paribas, the largest publicly held bank in France, stated that
the decision to temporarily suspend was due to “exceptional
times,” however they would re-open the funds as soon as liquidity
returns to the market. In an attempt to steady the financial
markets and to inject liquidity, the European Central Bank took
the highly unusual step of making available more than $130 billion
in overnight funds at a low rate of 4 percent.

Crude oil futures for September delivery fell
1% to $71.42 a barrel on concerns that reduced economic growth
will hamper fuel demand. Gold futures for December
delivery dropped 1.7% to $674.80 an ounce as investors sold
precious metals for cash to cover losses related to the U.S.
subprime mortgage collapse.


Around Asia, Shanghai’s Composite index rose once again adding
nearly 2% to 4,754.10, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.4% to
22,439.36, and Tokyo’s Nikkei index rose 0.8% to 17,170.60.

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Stocks in Motion

AIG
(
AIG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Q2 Earnings Rise, Top Estimate (full
story
). AIG shares fell 1.7%.

Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
July Comp. Sales
Up 1.9%; Total Sales Rise 6.5%; Sees 1% – 2% Growth In Aug. Comp. Sales (full
story
). WMT shares lost 1.8%.

Target
(
TGT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
July Net Retail Sales Rise 10.8% On Calendar Shift;
Comps. Up 6.1% (full
story
). TGT shares fell 1.6%.

Brinker International
(
EAT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Q4 Profit Rises; Adj. EPS Up 24%, Tops
Street View; Gives FY08 Growth Forecast; Cuts Long-term EPS Growth View (full
story
). EAT shares gained 2.8%. 

News Corp
(
NWS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Q4 Profit Rises On Strong Cable Network Results (full
story
). NWS shares lost 0.7%.

For more stories as they happen, go to our
Breaking News section.


Market Snapshot

Dow

-149.09 13,508.77

NASDAQ

-19.04 2,593.94

S&P 500

-20.21 1,477.28

NYSE NASDAQ

Volume

2,102,533,000 1,339,044,000

Advances

907 1209

Declines

2222 1739

Up Volume

466 475

Down Volume

1390 750

New Highs

56 90

New Lows

208 157




Strongest/Weakest Industry Groups

Strongest Industries

Weakest Industries

Oil and Gas
Equipment

Consumer Services
Telecom Investment
Brokerage- National
Internet
Insurance Brokers



Economic
News

Initial Claims 316K vs 310K
consensus, prior revised to 309K from 307K

Darren Wong

Associate Editor

darrenw@tradingmarkets.com

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