MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Lower As Car Sales Expected To Slide
05 Januar 2009 - 3:49PM
Dow Jones News
By Kate Gibson
U.S. stocks fell at Monday's open, following a three-day run of
gains, with investors pulling back ahead of data expected to
illustrate declining car sales and slowing construction spending,
further fueling anxiety before Friday's jobs report.
"Auto sales, construction spending ... all point to a weaker
economic outlook. Friday's jobs report should show non-Farm
payrolls down 550,000 and the rate above 7%," said Tom DiGaloma,
head of U.S. bond trading at Jefferies & Company Inc.
After closing at an eight-week high Friday, the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI) fell 63 points to 8,971.69 in early
action.
The S&P 500 (SPX) shed 7.01 points to 924.79, and the Nasdaq
Composite (RIXF) declined 14.13 points to 1,618.08.
End-of-the-year results from the auto industry were likely to be
grim, with car-buying research Web site Edmunds.com looking for
Chrysler to tally a 46% sales drop last month, while predicting
General Motors Corp. (GM) and Ford Motor Co. will fall 39% and 34%,
respectively.
In more downbeat news, the Commerce Department is expected to
report another large drop in construction spending for
November.
Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) gained 3.7% after Chief Executive
Steve Jobs said he's undergoing treatment for a hormone imbalance
that has caused him to lose weight. Jobs made his comments in an
open letter to the Apple community. .
J.P. Morgan raised its rating on Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) to
overweight from neutral. Shares of the online retailer were up 1%
Monday morning.
Oil futures gained nearly 2% in early trade, with the contract
for February delivery up 76 cents, or 1.5%, to 47.10 a barrel.
The dollar index (DXY), a measure of the greenback against rival
currencies, rose 0.2% to 82.83. .
Asian markets shot higher, with Japanese stocks taking the
lead.
European shares also gained, with telecom, utility and oil
equities among the strongest performers. .
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