Friday, October 24, 2008

Market Closed Mixed On Concerns Over Claims Quarterly - Oct 24, 2008

Thursday US stock market closed mixed on concerns over the jobless claims and also the better than expected quarterly results. Dow rallied in final trading hours after a volatile session to end with gain of 2%. However, the Nasdaq lost 11 points as some of the biggest names on the index hit by a weak outlook for the consumer. The S&P 500 meanwhile closed with gains of a percent and a half. Despite good quarterly numbers the investors were pessimistic about the outlook of these companies. Along with this, initial jobless claims increase by larger than expected amount.

On the earning front, Altria Group UPS, and Dow Chemical all peaked the earnings expectations for the third quarter. Further, Bristol-Myers, Eli Lilly, and Amgen also reported better than expected earnings.

On the economic front, jobless claims for the week ending Oct. 18 rose 15,000 to 478,000, surpassing 468,000 claims that were expected. Weekly jobless claims increased as many companies are cutting their workforces.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed with a gain of 172.04 points at 8,691.25. NASDAQ index lost 11.84 points at 1,603.91 and the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 11.33 points to close at 908.11 points.

Among the Dow’s 30 components, 19 ended in green and 11 ended in negative note. Advance was led by oil giants Exxon Mobil Corp.and Chevron Corp., up by 9% and 8.2%, respectively as oil rebounded from its previous low. Among those weighing on the blue-chip index, Hewlett-Packard Co. dropped 5.9%.

A total of around 1.3 bn shares were traded on the NASDAQ, with declining stocks outpaced the advancing stocks by 2 to 1. On the New York Stock Exchange around 1.7 bn shares traded for the day, with decliners outclassed advancers by 2 to 1.

Crude oil futures for the December delivery raised $1.09 to $67.84 a barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude oil prices rebounded on Thursday after Iran insisted OPEC cut oil production by two million barrels a day. OPEC is expected to announce a substantial production cut as much as three million barrels a day on its emergent meeting in Vienna.

The gold for the month of December delivery lost $20.50 to settle at $714.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped to $695.20 earlier during trading. Gold dropped due to fund liquidation and rise sin US dollar.

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