The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.11% and closed at 11,825.29. The S&P 500 was down 1.01% and closed at 1,281.92. The tech driven Nasdaq fell 1.46% and ended the day at 2,725.36. Wednesday recorded the highest one-day fall of the Nasdaq and S&P 500 since November 2010. On the New York Stock Exchange, declining stocks at 2,319 were clearly the gainers, with the advancing ones at 673. About 8.35 billion shares were traded on NYSE, keeping the volumes below average.
On the economic front, a dramatic increase in the figures of building permits has tempered the effect of a slide in the figures of Housing Starts on the markets. According to a report issued by the U.S Census Bureau, the figures for new home construction fell 4.3% whereas the figures of building permits has rocketed up 16.7%.
Coming to international news, Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to the US was closely watched by investors and media alike. According to chief market economist of Avalon Partners, Peter Cardillo, the U.S would be looking for ways to re-evaluate the yuan and would be possibly discussing ways to explore new and better opportunities in the country of the Red Dragon.
On a sectoral basis, banks and tech stocks were the primary losers in Wednesday’s trade as Goldman Sachs’ (NYSE:GS - Analyst Report) posted lower than expected results. Key shares in the financial sector to suffer losses include Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Analyst Report) which fell 0.63%, and American Express (NYSE:AXP - Analyst Report) and JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM - Analyst Report) which declined more than 2%. Shares of LED lighting maker Cree Inc (NASDAQ:CREE - Snapshot Report) decreased more than 14% to end the day at $53.63 after it reported weak earnings figures. Shares of Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ:RBCN - Snapshot Report) and Linear Technology (NASDAQ:LLTC - Analyst Report) were both hit badly and ended the day’s trade at 20.75 and 34.56 respectively. The fall in the bank stocks was primarily due to weak earnings results and new stiff financial regulations, along with weaknesses in the housing sector and a slow rate of loan growth.
On to news about earnings and estimates, financial major Goldman Sachs’ (NYSE:GS - Analyst Report) revenues declined even though the company’s earnings per share increased. Goldman Sachs’ (NYSE:GS - Analyst Report) posted a 53% drop in the last quarter earnings figures. Although share prices of Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC - Analyst Report) fell 2.1%, the company reported its earnings figures before market hours which saw a rise of 21% revenue in the fourth and last quarter with EPS figures matching expectations.
MGIC Investment Corp (NYSE:MTG - Analyst Report) also missed its estimate figures as share prices dropped 20.52% to $9.26. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Analyst Report) which is expected to release their earnings figures on Friday slumped 4.2%. Weaknesses can also be seen in prices of other bond insurers. Share prices of PMI Group Inc (NYSE:PMI - Analyst Report), MBIA Inc (NYSE:MBI - Analyst Report) and Radian Group (NYSE:RDN - Snapshot Report) fell 17.54%, 6.86% and 15.04% respectively. LED lightening Maker Cree Inc (NASDAQ:CREE - Snapshot Report) also posted earnings that too came short of expectations. Company shares fell 15% after the company missed expectations regarding the current quarter. For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
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