(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished lower on Tuesday after weaker-than-expected consumer confidence data rekindled economic fears.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28.19 points or 0.29% to finish at 9,761.17. The S&P 500 subtracted 0.57 points or 0.05% to end at 1,062.41. The Nasdaq Composite lost 3.47 points or 0.16% to 2,127.27.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 53.1 in September, down from the revised 54.5 reading in August. Economists had expected a reading of 57.
U.S. home prices as measured by the S&P Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 1.6% in July after rising 1.4% in June.20-city home price index fell by a smaller than expected 13.3% over the year to a level of 144.23 Economists were expecting prices to fall by a larger 14.2% over the year.
Shares of 3m Co. (NYSE:
MMM) plummeted $1.07 or 1.43% to close at $73.94.
Energy stocks finished with losses. Exxon Corp. (NYSE:
XOM) dropped 52 cents or 0.75% to $69.07. Chevron Corp. (NYSE:
CVX) fell 79 cents or 1.10% to $70.91.
Among gainers, shares of airplane maker Boeing Co. (NYSE:
BA) climbed $1.55 or 2.92% to 54.62.
Late on Monday, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded MBIA Inc.'s (NYSE:
MBI) main bond-insurance unit to non-investment grade, or junk, saying that the company may suffer more losses from guarantees it sold during the credit boom. Shares of MBIA Inc. tumbled 39 cents or 4.74% to $7.83.
Shares of Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ:
SQNM) plunged $2.23 or 39.19% to $3.46. The company on Monday fired its four executives and three other employees, including its president and CEO and the executive in charge of research and development, after an investigation into the mishandling of data related to its prenatal test for Down syndrome.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:
DELL) on Monday unveiled its high-end personal computer called Latitude Z. Shares of the second largest pc maker slid 50 cents or 3.19% in $15.17.
According to reports from the New York Post, hedge-fund manager John Paulson is considering a plan to save troubled lender CIT Group (NYSE:
CIT) through a merger with IndyMac Federal Bank. Shares of CIT soared 53 cents or 31.74% to $2.20.
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:
SBUX), the world's largest coffee shop operator, will start selling its VIA Ready Brew- an instant, just-add-water coffee that comes in packets- at all U.S. and Canadian stores. Shares finished at $20.38, down 24 cents or 1.16%.
Early on Tuesday, drugstore chain Walgreen Co. (NYSE:
WAG) said that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit slipped to $436 million, or 44 cents a share, from $443 million, or 45 cents a share, in the prior year period. Quarterly revenue climbed to $15.7 billion from $14.6 billion. Shares rallied $3.16 or 9.24% to $37.35.
European stocks settled lower. The UK FTSE lost 5.98 points or 0.12% to 5,159.72. The German DAX and French CAC decreased 0.40% and 0.28% respectively.
Asian stocks finished up. The Nikkei 225 rose 90.68 points or o.91% to 10,100.20. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 424.76 points or 2.06% to 21,013.17.
NYMEX crude oil for November delivery climbed 82 cents or 1.2% to settle at $66.84 a barrel.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
