Stock averages end narrowly mixed, snapping the S&P 500's
six-session win streak. Consolidation is expected. The Dow touched a
high of 9,931 yesterday, falling just short of the 10,000 mark, a level
not seen in a year and a key psychological level that some strategists
are expecting to trigger at least a modest correction. It was the third
straight day of gains for the blue-chip index. The Standard &
Poor's 500 index, which had risen over the past six sessions, also
finished at its highest level in a year. The gains have been driven in
large part upbeat expectations for earnings reports.
The weaker dollar offered some lift for commodity stocks. The
greenback's losses have been softened somewhat by a drop in stocks.
Intel Corp (
INTC), the world's largest chip maker and a bellwether
for the technology sector as well as business demand, is set to report
earnings after the bell; it gained modestly ahead of earnings. Cisco
Systems (
CSCO) provided some lift after it said it would acquire
wireless-networking technology company Starent Networks.
Financial shares remain mostly lower at mid-day, after analyst
Meredith Whitney dropped Goldman Sachs to "neutral" from "buy." Large
banks, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. (
JPM) reports on Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Inc. (
C) report results on Thursday, while
Bank of America Corp. (
BAC) is scheduled to issue its report on Friday.
Managed-care health stocks extend declines late Tuesday after the
Senate Finance Committee voted to pass a bill introduced by panel
chairman Max Baucus that would create health cooperatives to extend
coverage to more Americans.
Within the sector: Aetna (
AET), Cigna (CI), UnitedHealth (
UNH) and Humana (
HUM) declined.
Benchmark crude for November delivery gained 88 cents to settle at
$74.15 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. At one point, prices
reached $74.47, just short of the $75 reached on Aug. 25.
A rebounding global economy spurred on mainly by China and other
developing nations is expected to boost world oil demand by slightly
under 1% next year, OPEC said this morning while cautioning that the
pace of recovery remains far from certain.
NYSE down 19 (0.3%) to 7,031.87.
-DJIA down 14.7 (0.2%) to 9,871.
-S&P 500 down 3.01 (0.3%) to 1,073.
-Nasdaq up 0.08 (0.04%) to 2,140.
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Hang Seng up 0.79%
Nikkei up 0.60%
FTSE down 1.08%
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) VNDA inks pact with Novartis.
(+) NVAX gets NIH grant.
(+) DARA amends material transfer pact with American Stem Cell.
(+) INTC gains ahead of evening earnings.
(+) PSUN gets analyst upgrade.
(+) VASC continues evening gain that followed FDA clearance for hemostasis valve.
(+) AIG selling Taiwan insurance unit.
(+) CPBY inks new contracts.
(+) CGEN secures development pact with Bayer Schering on Compugen discovered oncology target and splice varia.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) GS downgraded by Meredith Whitney.
(-) BAC down as judge allows shareholder suit to proceed.
(-) CIT says CEO leaving.
(-) JNJ beats with earnings and raises guidance but sales disappoint.
