Stocks Plunge as Retail Sales Disappoint

S&P 500, Nasdaq also rise

(NEWSER) - Markets are up, at least for now: The Dow was up more than 100 points at open, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq following suit, up about 11 and 13 points, respectively, MarketWatch reports. An upbeat report on retail sales no doubt prodded stocks upward: July sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5%, their biggest gain in four months. Currently the Dow is hovering in the 11,200 range. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks ran in place this morning, as bulls and bears debated whether the market could keep the good times flowing. The Dow rose 20 points while the S&P and Nasdaq barely budged. Markets plunged yesterday as banks issued new stock offerings. Ford announced another such offer today, and saw its stock drop 4% premarket, though analysts were generally in favor of the move. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks fell at the open today, as a surprisingly bad retail report overshadowed a strong quarter from Goldman Sachs. The Dow fell 55 points, while the S&P and Nasdaq slid 4.3 and 14.1 points respectively. Retail sales fell 1.1% last month, while inflation fell faster than expected. Goldman Sachs posted a $1.8 billion profit, but its shares fell 4.9%. Other financials, however, were higher, with Citigroup up 11.8% More»

Host of negative news hurts markets

(NEWSER) - Stocks tumbled at the open today, after a raft of negative news overshadowed yesterday’s big rally. The Dow fell 128 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P shed 2% and 1.8% respectively. The Dow shot up more than 500 points yesterday, but today brought a dismal quarterly report from Freddie Mac, a slashed outlook from Nokia, and a record decline in retail sales in October. More»

Market ends up 57 points, down from 185-point rally

(NEWSER) - A stock rally lost steam after oil reversed an early decline and finished up slightly at $136.74 a barrel, Marketwatch reports. Investors had earlier turned bullish on an unexpectedly strong retail report and crude prices of $131.55. The Dow ended up 57.81 points, at 12,141.58, after being up 185 points earlier. The Nasdaq climbed 10.34 points to 2,404.35, and the S&P 500 climbed 4.38 points to 1,339.87. More»