Afternoon Rally Not Enough To Keep Dow Out Of The Red – Acadiana Business Index

Wall Street staged an afternoon rally as gains in financials overshadowed political concerns in Europe. Ken Meyers has the latest information on what happened on Wall Street in Monday’s Acadiana Business Index.

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• The Dow closed down 29 points to 13008 after being down by as many as 68 points. The S&P 500 Index gained 2 points to 1371 and the Nasdaq was higher by nearly 2 points to 2957.
• On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners on issues by 8-7 and was even on volume.
• In Europe, the newly elected French president pledged to push for less austerity and a Greek the poll casted doubt on whether it can implement spending cuts. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected additional government stimulus and reiterated her opposition to renegotiating the region’s fiscal treaty.
• A rally in financials led the reversal in market action as Warren Buffett said U.S. lenders have ample liquidity and are better off than their European rivals. As a result, Bank of America gained 22 cents to $7.96 and Citigroup added on 7 cents to $31.67.
• Gains were hampered by losses in energy shares as crude oil prices fell to a three-month low of $98.07 per barrel.
• In earnings, Tyson Foods gained the most in three months, increasing 59 cents to $18.63 after topping earnings estimates and saying it expects to gain momentum in the coming months.
• After the closing bell, Electronics Arts was scheduled to post its profit tally. The Treasury’s 10-year note yield touched a three-month low, but pared gains finishing up 2/32 to yield 1.88%.

For Monday’s complete report, click Ken’s Market Report.