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Stocks were slightly lower Monday afternoon as enthusiasm for a rebound in the financial sector was offset by worries about the strength of the holiday shopping season.
Today’s Markets
As of 3:01 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.91 points, or 0.09%, to 10301.53, the S&P 500 slid 1.80 points, or 0.16%, to 1089.62 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.40 points, or 0.35%, to 2131.02.The FOX 50 lost 1.15 points, or 0.14%, to 808.66.
The Dow had been up by nearly 60 points earlier in the day as regional banks like PNC Financial (PNC) rallied and fears about the Dubai debt crisis appeared to fade. The blue-chip index fell 154 points during Friday’s holiday-shortened session on fears Dubai World's request for a six-month standstill on its $60 billion in debt could spark another leg of the credit crisis.
“I think some of the emerging world fears have settled down,” said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global.
Most of the Dow's 30 components were in the red, led by Home Depot (HD) and AT&T (T). The index's biggest gainers were financial giantsBank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
The retail sector led the markets into negative territory as shares of Macy's (M) and Saks (SKS) fell sharply amid the initial reports on Black Friday. According to the National Retail Federation, 195 million people shopped over the Thanksgiving weekend, up from 172 million in 2008, but they plan to spend 8% less per person. Black Friday sales rose 0.5%, according to ShopperTrak. It wasn't all bad news for the sector as shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) gained 2% and hit an all-time intraday high.
Meanwhile, fears about Dubai appear to have lessened as the U.A.E. central bank said it will work to provide fresh funding to the country's local banks that may be exposed to debt issued by Dubai.However, the central bank did not offer a blanket bailout for Dubai.
Last week Dubai shocked world markets by saying it will need a six-month payment standstill on an estimated $60 billion in debt issued by Dubai World, its investment company. After diving last week, Asian markets soared overnight while European stocks slumped modestly. Stocks in Dubai plummeted 7.3% after being closed for a holiday.
Monday's earlier rally was led by the financial sector, which rebounded from Friday's selloff by gaining more than 1%. Regional banks like Regions Financial (RF) and PNC Financial (PNC) saw even heavier buying.
Crude oil spiked ahead of the close of trading amid new signs of tension with Iran. British officials said five Briton have been detained in Iran after their racing yacht might have accidentally crossed into Iranian waters. Crude, which slumped almost 2% last week, settled at $77.28 a barrel, up $1.23, or 1.62%. Capping off its biggest monthly gain in a year, gold gained $6.90 a troy ounce, or 0.59%, to $1181.10
Corporate Movers
Delta Petroleum (DPTR) announced it has retained Morgan Stanley (MS) and Evercore Partners to “evaluate and advise” on “strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value.” This includes exploring a sale of some or all of the company, partnerships, and joint venture opportunities.
Abercombie & Fitch (ANF) was upgraded to “outperform” by investment bank FBR, which cited “extraordinarily strong channel checks” over the Black Friday weekend. FBR said all three A&F brands showed a “material improvement” in both traffic and conversion over the weekend from a year ago.
UnitedHealth (UNH) reaffirmed its 2009 EPS guidance of approximately $3.15, which would miss the Street’s view by a penny. The health-care giant also said it sees earning between $2.90 and $3.10 a share in 2010 on revenue of $88.5 billion to $89.5 billion for 2010. Analysts had been forecasting 2010 EPS of $3.08 on $89.4 billion in revenue.
Global Markets
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 1.05% to 5190.68, France's CAC 40 lost 1.11% to 3680.15 and Germany's DAX sank 1.05% to 5625.95.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 2.9% to 9345.55, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 3.25% to 21,821.50 and China's Shanghai Composite gained 3.2% to 3195.30.
Stocks decline in early morning tradingEyeing Dubai, Dow Drops 154 on Debt Fears, Dollar
