Post by ۞Quaalude™۞ on Apr 16, 2010 12:01:37 GMT -5
Stocks tumbled Friday, led by financials, after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Goldman Sachs with fraud related to how it marketed subprime mortgages.
The news overshadowed strong quarterly results from Google, General Electric and Bank of America. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 124 points, or 1.1%, falling from 18-month highs hit earlier in the week. The S&P 500 index (SPX) lost 20 points or 1.6%, also falling from 18-month highs. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 30 points, or 1.2%, faling from 22-month highs.
News that the SEC has charged Goldman with fraud sent the firm's shares down 12% and also dragged on the broader financial sector, with the KBW Bank (BKX) sector index losing 4%.
Stocks closed modestly higher Thursday as investors shrugged off the latest jobless claims report and Google reported much better-than-expected earnings after the closing bell.
Quarterly results: Three top-tier companies reported results over the last 24 hours.
General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) stock fell more than 3% after it reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts, but sales fell short of expectations.
GE said net income fell 18% to $2.3 billion, or 21 cents per share, in the first three months of 2010. Analysts at Thomson Financial had expected earnings per share of 16 cents.
The company said revenue fell 5% to $36.6 billion. Analysts had forecast sales of $3.7 billion.
GE said it expects earnings to grow for the rest of 2010, though it may take more cost-cutting measures to improve profit growth even more.
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) stock fell more than 5% after it reported profit of 28 cents a share. Analysts had expected BofA to post earnings of 9 cents per share.
Late Thursday, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) said net income rose 38% from last year's first quarter. Operating income was $6.76 a share, topping analysts' estimates of $6.60.
Google's stock fell more than 6%.
Economy: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index slipped to 69.5 in mid-April from 73.6 earlier in the month. The reading was a surprise to economists, who forecast it would rise to 75.
On a more positive note, the housing market showed new signs of stabilization in a Commerce Department report released before the opening bell.
Housing starts rose to a 626,000 annual unit rate in March from a 616,000 annual unit rate in February. That was the highest rate of housing starts since November 2008 and topped forecasts for an increase to 610,000. Starts also rose over 20% from a year ago.
Building permits, a measure of builder confidence, rose to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 685,000, the highest tally since October 2008. Results topped forecasts and also showed permits rose 34% versus March 2009. I say Buy these Stocks as these company's are too Big to Fail & will surly get stronger QC
Buy Buy Buy !!!
The news overshadowed strong quarterly results from Google, General Electric and Bank of America. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 124 points, or 1.1%, falling from 18-month highs hit earlier in the week. The S&P 500 index (SPX) lost 20 points or 1.6%, also falling from 18-month highs. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 30 points, or 1.2%, faling from 22-month highs.
News that the SEC has charged Goldman with fraud sent the firm's shares down 12% and also dragged on the broader financial sector, with the KBW Bank (BKX) sector index losing 4%.
Stocks closed modestly higher Thursday as investors shrugged off the latest jobless claims report and Google reported much better-than-expected earnings after the closing bell.
Quarterly results: Three top-tier companies reported results over the last 24 hours.
General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) stock fell more than 3% after it reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts, but sales fell short of expectations.
GE said net income fell 18% to $2.3 billion, or 21 cents per share, in the first three months of 2010. Analysts at Thomson Financial had expected earnings per share of 16 cents.
The company said revenue fell 5% to $36.6 billion. Analysts had forecast sales of $3.7 billion.
GE said it expects earnings to grow for the rest of 2010, though it may take more cost-cutting measures to improve profit growth even more.
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) stock fell more than 5% after it reported profit of 28 cents a share. Analysts had expected BofA to post earnings of 9 cents per share.
Late Thursday, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) said net income rose 38% from last year's first quarter. Operating income was $6.76 a share, topping analysts' estimates of $6.60.
Google's stock fell more than 6%.
Economy: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index slipped to 69.5 in mid-April from 73.6 earlier in the month. The reading was a surprise to economists, who forecast it would rise to 75.
On a more positive note, the housing market showed new signs of stabilization in a Commerce Department report released before the opening bell.
Housing starts rose to a 626,000 annual unit rate in March from a 616,000 annual unit rate in February. That was the highest rate of housing starts since November 2008 and topped forecasts for an increase to 610,000. Starts also rose over 20% from a year ago.
Building permits, a measure of builder confidence, rose to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 685,000, the highest tally since October 2008. Results topped forecasts and also showed permits rose 34% versus March 2009. I say Buy these Stocks as these company's are too Big to Fail & will surly get stronger QC
Buy Buy Buy !!!