There's No Business Like FOX Business
Wall Street recovered from an early selloff Wednesday afternoon as the Nasdaq Composite turned positive and the Dow shed a triple-digit loss despite a disappointing manufacturing report.
Today’s Markets
As of 12:58 p.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10.42 points, or 0.10%, to 9732.68, the S&P 500 slid 0.82 points, or 0.08%, to 1059.79 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 6.46 points, or 0.30%, to 2130.48.The consumer-friendly FOX 50 sank 0.81 points, or 0.10%, to 772.07.
The back-and-forth action comes after the Dow slid 47 points on Tuesday, its fourth down day of the past five.
Even though the Dow shed most of its losses, most of the index's 30 components were in the red, led by JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Walt Disney (DIS). The biggest percentage gainers on the index were American Express (AXP) and Cisco (CSCO).
The Nasdaq Composite turned positive in recent trading, led by tech stocks like Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (BRCM).
The markets received a boost from crude oil, which soared more than 4% after the government said gasoline stockpiles tumbled 1.67 million barrels, surprising a market that had been expecting a sizable build. At the same time, the report showed crude oil inventories soared by nearly 3 million barrels last week. Crude was recently up $2.93, or 4.38%, to $69.63. Gold climbed $15.20 an ounce, or 1.54%, to $1009.60
Wall Street's recovery hopes were dealt a blow Wednesday morning by the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index. The regional manufacturing report fell to a reading of 46.1 in September, down from a August reading 50.0 and well below the 52 reading economists had forecasted. Within the report, the closely-watched Chicago new orders index plunged from a reading of 52.5 to a reading of 46.3. A reading of below 50 indicates contraction.
The dismal manufacturing survey quickly sent stocks and economically-sensitive commodities into a free-fall, reversing an earlier rally. Raw materials and other stocks such as Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), Caterpillar (CAT) and Alcoa (AA) turned red on the news.
The PMI report overshadowed two other economic reports out earlier Wednesday: the final reading on second quarter gross domestic product and the September ADP Macroeconomic Advisers' private sector jobs report.
The Commerce Department said GDP contracted by 0.7% in the second quarter, up from an earlier estimate of a 1% contraction and better than the 1.2% contraction that economists had expected.
At the same time, ADP said the nation's private sector employers cut 254,000 jobs in September, slightly more than the 240,000 job losses expected by economists, according to Thomson Reuters.
Corporate Movers
CIT Group (CIT) plunged 35% after The Wall Street Journal reported the commercial lender is working on a plan to effectively hand over control to its bondholders. The possible deal comes with a massive exchange offer the bank is putting together that would effectively eliminate 30% to 40% of its $30 billion in outstanding debt, the newspaper reported. The company has until Thursday to submit a restructuring plan to its lenders or possibly face filing for bankruptcy protection.
Chevron (CVX) said CEO David O'Reilly will retire at the end of this year, clearing way for 52-year-old John Watson to succeed him.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) is considering fusing its PC and printer divisions in a massive organization plan, the Journal reported. The merger of the two units would place control of both businesses under PC executive Todd Bradley.
Ameriprise Financial (AMP) jumped 11% after the company said it will acquire Bank of America's (BAC) Columbia Management portfolio management business for $1 billion. Ameriprise said Columbia will add $165 billion in assets to its portfolio business and it plans to fund the purchase with cash.
Global Markets
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% to 5165.11, France's CAC 40 was up 0.38% to 3828.45 and Germany's DAX rose 0.15% to 5722.16.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.33% to 10133.23, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.28% to 20955.25 and China's Shanghai Composite jumped 0.9% to 2779.43.
Red-Hot Stocks Cool OffStocks tumble amid investors’ worries
