Stock Market News for January 25, 2010 - Market News
US stocks declined for a third straight session as lingering worries about a White House proposal to clamp down on big Wall Street banks and China’s measures to tame liquidity in that country roiled markets. Ho-hum earnings reports that failed to meet high expectations darkened the mood further, prompting investors to shun equities.
Asian stocks this morning also took a hit, with almost all the indices ending the day in the red. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 77.86 points, or 0.7%, to 10,512.69, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed down 127.63 points, or 0.6%, to 20,598.55. South Korea's market dropped 14.15 points, or 0.8%, to 1,670.20. The Shanghai Composite index in mainland China retreated 1.1%, Australia's market was down 0.7% and India's benchmark slipped 0.3%.
The holiday-shortened week saw the broader S&P 500 index losing 3.9%, and wiping off its gains recorded this year; the teach-heavy Nasdaq lost 3.6%. The blue-chip Dow average was the major loser during the week, off 4.1%, and recorded its worst weekly decline since hitting its 12-year bottom in March 2009. The three-day rout saw the 30-share index losing 517 points. Reflecting wavering sentiments, market’s measure of volatility, the CBOE Vix surged 52.5% to 27.32, its highest since early November.
Uncertainty over whether Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will get a second term also had traders cutting exposure to equities. Many consider Bernanke as the cause of the economy’s problems but Bernanke’s loss would mean uncertainty on interest rates as well as stimulus measures.
On Friday, conglomerate General Electric (NYSE:GE) reported a 19% slump in fourth-quarter profit. However, the numbers were above Street expectations, and GE said it expects solid growth in 2011. McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), another Dow component, reported better-than-expected quarterly reports and said weakness in its U.S. business were offset by strength in international markets.
Basic material shares sank 6.6% as China moved to cool economic growth in that country. Oil and gas shares dropped 5.0% for the week after crude prices fell 6.1% to $74.54 on global demand concerns. For the week, tech shares retreated 4.6%, as a Citigroup (NYSE:C) analyst downgraded seven chipmakers and Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) revenue failed to match analysts’ expectations.
This week sees a plethora of companies reporting their numbers. About 25% of the S&P500, or 136 firms, are slated to release interims this week, including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which also may launch its new tablet on the 27th, and Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) today; DuPont (NYSE:DD), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Travelers (NYSE:TRV), Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) on Tuesday; Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) on Wednesday; 3M (NYSE:MMM), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Ford (NYSE:F), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on Thursday; and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) on Friday.
The preceding article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.
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