Markets pared their deepest declines to finish with mixed results. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

  • The Dow Jones shed 17 points to 12,101, the S&P 500 was essentially unchanged at 1278, and the NASDAQ added 13 points to 2760. Composite volume on the NYSE was about 3.9 billion shares with decliners besting advancers 4-3. The NASDAQ was even on issues.
  • Stocks staged a comeback in the closing minutes of trading. Speculation of further easing from the Federal Reserve helped investors overlook weak U.S. economic data and lingering concerns surrounding Europe.
  • Factory orders for April unexpectedly fell 0.6%, missing projections of a 0.2% advance.
  • Industrials were the worst performing stocks as global growth concerns weighed on the sector. Caterpillar gave up $2.26 to $83.26 and United Technologies fell 57 cents to $71.45.
  • Homebuilders also traded in weakness. Toll Brothers ended in the red by $1.28 to $23.96 and DR Horton shed 73 cents to $14.48.
  • Telecom stocks were the top performing sector. AT&T rallied 25 cents to $34.15 and Verizon added 31 cents to close at $41.34.
  • In other news, shares of Facebook continue to slide, ending the session at $26.90 after giving up 82 cents.
  • In bondland, Treasuries were lower along the curve.
  • The benchmark 10-year note was off 5/8 of a point to yield 1.52% and the 30-year bond was down nearly a full point to yield 2.57%.

 

 

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