Stock Market News for March 2, 2012 - Market News
02 Março 2012 - 6:06AM
Zacks
Encouraging domestic economic data
and the massive monetary injection by the European Central Bank
(ECB) lifted the benchmarks modestly higher on Thursday. The day
was somewhat marred by dismal economic data and news of explosion
on an unknown Saudi oil pipeline. However, investors preferred the
positives and the markets did finish in the green though it came
down from its day’s highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJI) gained 0.2% and closed at 12,980.30. The Standard & Poor
500 (S&P 500) moved up 0.6% to finish yesterday’s trading
session at 1,374.09. The tech-laden Composite Index enjoyed strong
gains of 0.7% and settled at 2,988.97. The fear-gauge CBOE
Volatility Index (VIX) plunged 6.4% and settled at 17.26.
Consolidated volumes on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and
Nasdaq were 7 billion shares, which were in line with the daily
average volumes. On the NYSE, for every couple of stocks that
advanced, a single stock dropped into the negative territory.
Investors would always be happy to
know about an improving employment situation. A drop in
unemployment bodes well for the economy and subsequently the
investors’ cheer is reflected through the benchmarks. Since late
December last year, investors have mostly been receiving good news
from the labor front, and it was no exception yesterday. The U.S.
Department of Labor reported that the advance figure for seasonally
adjusted initial claims for the week ending February 25, dropped to
351,000, thus a decline of 2,000 from the previous week's revised
figure of 353,000. The drop was also slightly larger than consensus
estimates, which predicted the initial claims to be 352, 000.
While the labor market boosted the
sentiment, a modest increase in personal income also added to the
cheer. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that Personal
income increased 0.3% and disposable personal income (DPI)
increased 0.1% in January.
Cross-Atlantic developments looked
positive yesterday with declining fears about a meltdown in banking
sector. The ECB injected a massive $712.2 billion into commercial
banks. This was the second time ECB injected money, aiming to buoy
the banking sector. In ECB’s history, this was the largest single
refinancing activity.
Following this development, the
financial sector emerged as one of the leading gainers for the day
with Financial SPDR Select Sector Fund (XLF) gaining 1.1%. The KBW
Bank Index (BKX) also gained 1.1% and bellwethers like Bank of
America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C), JP Morgan Chase &
Co. (NYSE:JPM), The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), Deutsche
Bank AG (NYSE:DB) and Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) posted robust gains
of 1.9%, 2.4%, 2.9%, 5.2%, 2.5% and 3.1%, respectively.
However, the day’s gains were
limited by some dismal economic reports that included a downtrend
in manufacturing activity and a drop in construction spending. The
ISM Manufacturing Index, which is considered the king of all
manufacturing indices, had dismal figures to share with the
investors as it reported a slower pace of growth. The Institute for
Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee said that
the PMI decreased 1.7 percentage points from January's reading to
52.4 in February. Also, the New Orders Index declined 2.7
percentage points from January's reading to 54.9 percent.
Separately, the U.S. Census Bureau
of the Department of Commerce reported that the construction
spending during January 2012 dropped 0.1% from the revised December
estimate of $827.6 billion to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
$827.0 billion. Spending on private construction remained almost
flat and the seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction
spending dropped 0.2%.
Markets also lost some of its gains
owing to media reports of an explosion on an unknown oil pipeline
of Saudi. Brent crude sprung to $126.20 per barrel. However, the
report was later denied by Saudi oil official. Nonetheless, the
news had done some damage to the benchmarks and the news came
around 40 minutes before the markets’ close. The energy sector
gained some points and the Energy SPDR Select Sector Fund (XLE)
inched up by almost a percent and shares including National Oilwell
Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV), Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), Baker Hughes
Incorporated (NYSE:BHI) and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) increased 1.9%,
1.0%, 1.0% and 1.1%, respectively.
BANK OF AMER CP (BAC): Free Stock Analysis Report
BARCLAY PLC-ADR (BCS): Free Stock Analysis Report
BAKER-HUGHES (BHI): Free Stock Analysis Report
CITIGROUP INC (C): Free Stock Analysis Report
DEUTSCHE BK AG (DB): Free Stock Analysis Report
DEVON ENERGY (DVN): Free Stock Analysis Report
GOLDMAN SACHS (GS): 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
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jun 2024 até Jul 2024
Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jul 2023 até Jul 2024