YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Stocks slumped in early trade, but managed to
gradually trim losses throughout the session. The major averages still settled
with varied losses, though.
The stock market saw its gains pared in the prior session as profit
takers pulled it down from a new multi-year high, but selling pressure was much
more pronounced this morning. Weakness abroad and concerns about how global
economic growth could be impacted by a slowdown in
Plans to increase fuel prices in
Oil's slide weighed heavily on the Energy sector, which suffered a
1.4% loss. Oil and gas equipment and services plays were among the sector's
poorest performers. Other key commodities were caught up in concerted selling,
too, such that the CRB Index suffered a 1.2% loss. That stands as its worst
single-session slide in two weeks. Gold prices dropped 1.2% to settle pit trade
at $1647.30 per ounce, while silver suffered a 3.2% loss by settling at $31.89
per ounce.
A pullback by the dollar took some of the pressure off of precious
metals this morning, but the relief was only temporary. Although the greenback
ended the day below its best levels, support narrowly above the neutral line
helped it secure a 0.2% gain against a basket of major foreign currencies.
Financials were the best performers of the day. The sector overcame
some early weakness and even fought through a few flurries of selling that
forced it back to the flat line to score a 0.4% gain. Investment banks and
brokerages led the way.
Overall action was rather uninspiring, but shares of Tiffany & Co. (TIF 73.27, +4.59)
rallied sharply to a new multi-month high in response to strong guidance by the
company. Disappointing earnings in its most recent quarter were forgiven.
Economic data today was limited to monthly housing starts, which
hit an annualized rate of 698,000 units in February. That's down from the prior
month's upwardly revised rate of 706,000 units and less than the pace of
705,000 units that had been broadly expected. Building permits for February
improved to a rate of 717,000 from 682,000 in the prior month. That bested the
rate of 695,000 that had been expected, on average, by economists polled by
Briefing.com. The latest monthly existing home sales numbers will be released
Wednesday at 10:00 AM ET.
Overall weakness in the commodity complex caused the CRB Index to
suffer a 1.2% loss, which stands as its worst single-session slide since it
slumped 1.6% two weeks ago.
Persistent pressure kept crude oil prices in negative territory all
session, such that lows were set at $105.66 per barrel before pit trade closed
with contracts at $106.10 per barrel for a 2.3% loss. Selling was attributed to
concerns about the implications for global economic growth after
Natural gas trade was volatile with prices swinging between $2.32
and $2.37 per MMBtu before a late move higher lost
momentum and the commodity closed pit trade with a 0.4% loss at $2.34 per MMBtu.
Pronounced selling among precious metals resulted in sharp losses
for both gold and silver. A pullback by the dollar had helped ease pressure,
but a late sell-off left gold to settle at $1647.30 per ounce with a loss of
1.2%. Silver suffered a 3.2% loss by settling at $31.89 per ounce.
Advancing Sectors:
Financials +0.4%, Consumer Discretionary +0.2%, Utilities +0.1%, Telecom +0.1%
Unchanged: Consumer
Staples
Declining Sectors: Tech
-0.1%, Health Care -0.5%, Materials -0.6%, Industrials -1.1%, Energy -1.4%DJ30
-68.94 NASDAQ -4.17 NQ100 +0.2% R2K -1.0% SP400 -0.7% SP500 -4.23 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 758/1.50 bln/1771 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec
985/710 mln/2000