Stocks Flat Despite WaMu Deal

Amazon, Microsoft fall after weak earnings

(NEWSER) - The tech sector exerted downward pressure on stocks today, snapping the Nasdaq’s 12-day winning streak, the Wall Street Journal reports. Microsoft sank 8.9% after reporting a 29% drop in quarterly earnings, while Amazon fell 8.3% after also reporting a disappointing quarter. Alcoa, Pfizer, and Merck helped the Dow climb with modest advances. The Dow gained 23.95 points to close at 9,093.24. The Nasdaq lost 7.64, settling at 1,965.96, and the S&P 500 added 2.97, closing at 979.26. More»

Industrial, financial stocks pace declines

(NEWSER) - Stocks fell today, ending a 4-day winning streak for the Dow as worries about grim first-quarter earnings reports spooked investors, the Wall Street Journal reports. Alcoa, which will give its report tomorrow, fell 4.3%, as did Caterpillar, off 3.5%. The Dow fell 41.74 to close at 7,975.85. The Nasdaq lost 15.16, settling at 1,606.71, and the S&P 500 dropped 7.02 to 835.48. More»

(NEWSER) - The Dow had its biggest fall in a month today, as investors showed anxiety over third-quarter earnings. The key index dropped 85.84 points from yesterday's record high to 14,078.69, after aluminum maker Alcoa announced a sales slippage of 3.2%. Boeing contributed to the bearish day with a 2.7% loss, Bloomberg reports, after it pushed back delivery of its much-delayed 787 Dreamliner for 6 more months. More»

S&P 500 also closes at all-time high

(NEWSER) - The markets spiked to record highs today after the Fed released minutes from its critical September meeting that revealed unanimous consent for the large interest rate cuts. The Dow climbed 120.80 points to close at an all-time high of 14,164.53. One economist told the Journal, “Just seeing that the Fed feels your pain is worth something.” More»

Mining giants Bucyrus, Terex to merge

(NEWSER) - Stocks saw broad gains today as analysts upgraded blue chips Alcoa and Intel and big mergers were announced in the mining and health-care sectors, the Wall Street Journal reports.

• The Dow rose 85.25 points to close at 10,414.14.
• The Nasdaq added 25.97, ending the session at 2,237.66.
• The S&P 500 gained 11.58 to settle at 1,114.05.