Tech Snaps Nadaq's Streak; Dow Climbs 24

(NEWSER) - Financials dipped today as firms continued stock sell-offs to finance TARP repayments, but strong performance by drug and energy companies stabilized the market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Merck and Pfizer were up as much as 2% and 6%, respectively; oil got a boost from $60 barrels. The Dow was up 50.34 to 8,469.11. The S&P fell 0.89 to 908.35 on bank concerns; the Nasdaq lost 15.32, ending at 1,715.92. More»

Investors await stress tests results

(NEWSER) - A poor earnings report and forecast from Cisco led stocks down today, the Wall Street Journal writes. The networking giant, considered an indicator of the tech sector’s general health, noted a 17% drop in revenue, and projected bigger losses for next quarter. The Dow closed down 102.43 at 8,409.85. The Nasdaq lost 42.86 to close at 1,716.24, and the S&P 500 dropped 12.14, settling at 907.39. 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»

GDP report ends month of layoffs, losses

(NEWSER) - Stocks extended losses today off the news of a 3.8% decline in US GDP for the fourth quarter, ending a turbulent month, MarketWatch reports. The report capped a week of widespread layoffs and poor earnings at major US firms. Amazon.com was a rare exception, up 18% on strong fourth-quarter earnings. The Dow fell 148.15 to close at 8,000.86. The Nasdaq closed down 31.42 at 1,476.42, and the S&P 500 lost 19.26 to settle at 825.88. More»

Third-quarter reports detail suffering across the board

(NEWSER) - Stocks continued yesterday’s decline amid a wave of poor earnings reports across the board, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow, down at one point nearly 700 points in the final hour, fell 514.45 to close at 8,519.21. The Nasdaq shed 80.93 points, closing at 1,615.75, and the S&P 500 slid 58.27 points to 896.78, its lowest close in 5 years. More»