Special Report:Global Financial Crisis
NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (Chinese media) -- Wall Street closed
lower on Wednesday, as the market digested a bunch of downbeat corporate news
and investors cashed out after the previous big rally.
Worse-than-expected earnings reports weighed on
stocks. Morgan Stanley posted a loss of 2.37 billion U.S. dollars for the fiscal
fourth quarter, wider than the most pessimistic analyst's estimate. Meanwhile,
Newell Rubbermaid, the maker of Calphalon cookware, tumbled as the company
reduced its 2008 profit forecast.
Moreover, Apple lost ground, after the maker of the
iPhone said Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs won't speak at the Macworld Expo,
spurring concern that his health is deteriorating. And Oppenheimer downgraded
Apple to "perform" from "outperform."
The disappointing corporate news offset a big jump of
Macy's. Macy's announced that it had reached an agreement with Bank of America
and JPMorgan Chase on relaxation of terms on a 20-billion-dollar credit line.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than four
percent on Tuesday and other indexes gained more than five percent, as the
Federal Reserve cut its federal funds rate target to a range of zero to 0.25
percent. Therefore, it was not surprising that investors cashed in some of their
gains on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones lost 99.80, or 1.12 percent, to
8,824.34. Broader indexes also moved lower. The Standard Poor's 500 index
dipped 8.76, or 0.96 percent, to 904.42, and the Nasdaq slipped 10.58, or 0.67
percent, to 1,579.31.
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