Stock Market News for February 22, 2012 - Market News
22 Fevereiro 2012 - 7:06AM
Zacks
The Dow hit the 13, 000 mark thanks
to optimism over the Greek bailout deal, but markets finally
receded to end mostly flat. Euro-zone finance ministers approved
$172 billion worth of financial aid and that sparked the morning
rally. However, as the news became a bit old and higher gasoline
prices took a toll on sentiments, the benchmarks lost most of its
earlier gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
ended the day at 12,965.69, after gaining a mere 0.1%. The Standard
& Poor 500 (S&P 500) closed yesterday’s trading session
mostly unchanged at 1,362.21, which is just a 0.1% improvement from
the prior trading day. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index closed
in the red, losing 0.1% to finish at 2,948.57.The fear-gauge CBOE
Volatility Index (VIX) gained 2.3% to settle at 18.19. Consolidated
volumes on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq were
6.7 billion shares, somewhat lower than the daily average of 7
billion. Decliners were marginally ahead of the advancers on the
NYSE, as for 49% of the stocks that declined, 48% of the stocks
moved up. The remaining stocks were left unchanged.
Investors had hoped for Dow would
cross the 13, 000 mark and it did not disappoint. The benchmark had
been moving closer to this pre-recessionary level over the last
couple of days. However, the blue-chip index could not remain above
this level for long. Two hours into the day’s trading session, the
Dow broke the 13, 000 mark, but it survived at those levels for
only 30 seconds. Later during noon and at 1:30 P.M., the Dow scaled
similar heights, but it could never sustain the level.
The big news for the day was
euro-zone finance ministers granting Greece much-needed bailout
funds. The $172 billion worth of financial aid came in after weeks
of doldrums. The country’s ministers finalized steps to reduce
Greece's debt to 120.5% of its gross domestic product by 2020 after
a meeting lasting for 13 long hours. Following the decision on the
bailout fund, Greece will not have to default on its debt or make
an exit from euro. This will also save Europe and even the global
economy from a significantly chaotic situation.
While this development pushed the
benchmarks higher, most of the gains were lost during the closing
session. Since late last week, investors were hopeful about Greece
securing the bailout money, and thus the optimism to an extent was
already rather high. Thus, expectations had already pushed the
benchmarks higher, and the final event could only spark off a
momentary rally.
Separately, new highs in oil prices
also dampened sentiment, and benchmarks lost some of their impetus
owing to this development. Higher oil prices cannot be good for an
economy. Among many adverse impacts, higher fuel charges pushed up
transportation costs, leading to increased food and raw material
prices, eventually making a dent in the consumer’s pocket. Worries
over oil supply from Iran powered the US crude futures to a
nine-month high. Prices gained 2.5% to reach $10.584 per
barrel.
Meanwhile, the Energy SPDR Select
Sector Fund (XLE) moved up 0.7%. Stocks including Exxon Mobil
Corporation (NYSE:XOM), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX),
Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), Halliburton
Company (NYSE:HAL) and National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV)
jumped 1.1%, 1.6%, 1.1%, 0.6%, 2.0% and 0.9%, respectively.
Almost in tune with the broader
markets, the rally in the financial sector also faded during the
final hours. The financial sector ended marginally lower with the
Financial SPDR Select Sector Fund (XLF) losing 0.1%. As for the
individual stocks, JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Visa Inc.
(NYSE:V), Hartford Financial Services (NYSE:HIG) and Zions
Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION) lost 0.03%, 0.7%, 3.2% and 1.8%,
respectively.
CONOCOPHILLIPS (COP): Free Stock Analysis Report
CHEVRON CORP (CVX): Free Stock Analysis Report
HALLIBURTON CO (HAL): Free Stock Analysis Report
HARTFORD FIN SV (HIG): Free Stock Analysis Report
JPMORGAN CHASE (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report
NATL OILWELL VR (NOV): Free Stock Analysis Report
SCHLUMBERGER LT (SLB): Free Stock Analysis Report
VISA INC-A (V): Free Stock Analysis Report
EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report
ZIONS BANCORP (ZION): Free Stock Analysis Report
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