Stock Market News for July 2, 2010 - Market News

Tepid economic data sent stocks lower on the first day of a new quarter even as investors kept their cards close to their chests before Friday’s all-important June payrolls report.  However, stocks managed to pare deeper losses even as fears that the economy was slowly slipping back into recession kept hovering over Wall Street.

Hurt by the weak economic data, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 150 points before some short covering helped it pare most of the losses.  The average closed with a drop of 42 points, or 0.4%, at 9732.53, its lowest close in eight months.  The broader S&P 500 index closed off 3 points or 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 8 points or 0.4%.  Treasury prices fell, sending corresponding yields lower.  The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3% mark after falling to 2.94% late Wednesday.

After this morning’s disappointing jobs report, stocks futures are trading in a narrow range.  Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures are off slightly to 9,661.  The Standard & Poor's 500 index futures edged up less than a point to 1,022.00, while Nasdaq 100 index futures added 1.25 points to 1,729.25.

Retailers showed strength yesterday, helped in part by a report that said a private equity firm had bought a 9.5% stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. BJ.  Shares in BJ surged 17.6%.  A Fitch ratings upgrade of Limited Brands’ LTD credit sent shares in the company up 2.9%.

Declines yesterday were broad based with 23 of the 30 DJIA components closing the day in the red.  Losses were led by Hewlett-Packard HPQ, Merck MRK and United Technologies UTX.

Financials were weaker. Bank of America BAC shares dropped 2.4% and JP Morgan Chase JPM fell 1.3%.  Goldman Sachs GS fell 0.1%.  Shares in Citigroup C edged up 0.5% after the U.S. Treasury said it sold 1.1 billion Citigroup shares.  Reports say the sale resulted in a profit of $10.3 billion for the treasury.  Ford F shares jumped 4.6% after the company said it June sales surged 15%.  The automaker said strength in its F-series trucks and the 2011 Ford Mustang drove results. 

Yesterday, the safe-haven plays saw lackadaisical demand even as equity prices turned lower. Crude prices fell 3.5% and copper prices were down 2.5%.  Gold lost its luster, dropping to its lowest since May 25 at $1,206.70.  The market’s measure of volatility, the CBOE Vix, eased a little, falling 4.9% to 32.86. 

A successful Spanish bond auction, meanwhile, soothed concerns about European finances even Moody’s warned that the country’s credit rating was under review.  The euro rallied sharply against the dollar.