US stocks finished with lower for first time in five sessions on Tuesday, 07 September 2010. The US stock market mired in the red all session. Its weakness was largely owed to sharp losses among financial stocks and energy plays. Investors retuned from Labor Day weekend to sell. Stocks witnessed sell-off as concerns once again resurfaced regarding European banks.
For the day, that ended on Tuesday, 07 September 2010, Dow ended lower by 107.24 points at 10,340.69. Nasdaq ended lower by 24.86 points at 2,208.89. S&P 500 ended lower by 12.67 points at 1,091.84.
Twenty-six out of thirty Dow components ended in the red led by American Express. Mac Donald led the pack of Dow winners.
The financial sectors weakness came from sharp losses among bank stocks, which have been undercut by rekindled concerns about the health of European banks. As for the energy sector, oil and gas explorers and drillers are in the worst shape. Though energy and financials were under the most pressure, weakness among stocks is generally widespread.
Adding to concerns about economic growth, the Economics Ministry reported on Tuesday that Germanys manufacturing orders dropped 2.2% in July from the previous month against an expected rise of 0.5% month-on-month.
More than two stocks were on the decline for each issue rising on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume topped 410 million. Three stocks fell for each issue on the rise on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume neared 542 million.
Usually slow during the summer, trading volume was particularly low of late, and did not show any immediate signs of picking back up as traders returned from their vacations after the Labor Day holiday.
There was not much in the way of corporate news today, though Oracle announced this morning that Mark Hurd, former Hewlett-Packard head, has joined the company as a co-President.
Crude oil prices dropped on Tuesday, 07 September 2010 at Nymex. Prices ended lower as the dollar strengthened. But crude managed to pare part of its earlier losses. On Tuesday, crude oil futures for light sweet crude for October delivery closed at $74.09/barrel (lower by $0.51 or 0.9%). Earlier during the day, prices dropped to the extent of 2%.
In the currency market on Tuesday, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, rose by 0.9%.
Precious metals ended mixed on Tuesday, 07 September 2010 at Comex. Gold prices rose but silver dropped. On Tuesday, gold for December delivery ended at $1,259.3 an ounce, higher by $8.2 (0.7%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was a new settlement for gold. December Comex silver futures ended lower by 4 cents (0.2%) to $19.912.
The rest of the week will concentrate on economic reports. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release its so-called Beige Book, offering a glimpse at regional economic activity, while on Thursday the government releases its weekly count of those filing initial claims for unemployment benefits.
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