On Wednesday, the markets shed their winning gains to close almost flat as cautious investors focused more on Egypt's unrest against better than expected news on the market. Although the Dow recorded new highs, other benchmarks including S&P 500 and the tech-laden Nasdaq fell slightly.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 1.81 points at 12,041.97, a 30-month fresh high. The S&P 500 lost 0.3% to close at 1,304.03 as 9 out of 10 stocks of the index fell. The Nasdaq fell 1.63 points to end the day at 2,749.56. On the New York Stock Exchange, volumes were on the lighter side with only 936 million shares being traded. Market breadth was negative as falling shares slightly outpaced rising ones by a small margin.
Fresh tensions in Egypt continued to be the major international issue weighing on the minds of the investors. Nervy investors panicked after fresh street clashes between the supporters of the Egyptian president and protesters calling for his ouster were reported. Fears of the violence spreading to other parts of the region also weighed down the indexes. Reacting to the news, oil prices fluctuated throughout the day to end at $90.86 a barrel, up by 9 cents. Although Egypt isn't a big oil exporter, the Suez and Sumed pipelines are used to transport roughly 3 million barrels of oil daily.
Coming to the economic news, a report from ADP said that 187,000 private sector jobs were added in January, recording 12 consecutive months of private sector employment growth. This news came as a breather to the economy with the Labor Department's monthly employment report due on Friday. Economists expect the unemployment rate to rise 9.5% from 9.4% in the previous month.
On to news of earnings and estimates, share prices of Whirlpool WHR fell 2.13% to close at $83.60, after its fourth quarter earnings increased at a slower rate as cost cutting and higher unit volume offset higher material prices. However, the management of the company has projected an improved and better year ahead of the Street forecast. Videogame publishers Electronic Arts ERTS rocketed 15.98% after the company reported their third quarter earnings. The company has reported a third quarter loss because of low sales but it has announced plans to buyback stock worth $600 million and also projected an improved outlook for the current quarter. Share prices of Hershey HSY gained 3.12% after the candy maker reported an increase in its fourth quarter earnings results. The increase in earnings is primarily because of lower restructuring charges and improved sales and profit margin figures. Toy makers Mattel MAT gained 22 cents or rose 0.91% to $24.37 after the company reported improved sales figures across all its major divisions and announced it was increasing its dividend by 11%. Media company Time Warner Inc's TWX share price increased 8.64% to close at $35.10 after the company reported a 22% increase in its fourth quarter profits.
On a sectoral basis, shares of Genworth Financial GNW dropped 8.46% to close at $12.76 after the insurer reported a loss in current quarter earnings. Shares of several financial giants including the likes of JP Morgan JPM, Goldman Sachs' GS and Morgan Stanley MS fell by 1.05%, 0.17% and 0.87% to close at $45.45, $165.05 and $29.66 respectively. U.S listed, Spain's second largest bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya's BBVA share prices fell 2.24% after the company reported disappointing fourth quarter earnings results.
BANCO BILBAO VZ (BBVA): Free Stock Analysis Report
ELECTR ARTS INC (ERTS): Free Stock Analysis Report
GENWORTH FINL (GNW): Free Stock Analysis Report
GOLDMAN SACHS (GS): Free Stock Analysis Report
HERSHEY CO/THE (HSY): Free Stock Analysis Report
JPMORGAN CHASE (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report
MATTEL INC (MAT): Free Stock Analysis Report
MORGAN STANLEY (MS): Free Stock Analysis Report
TIME WARNER INC (TWX): Free Stock Analysis Report
WHIRLPOOL CORP (WHR): Free Stock Analysis Report
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