Tech Stocks Pace Losses On Wall Street – Acadiana Business Index

Markets ended lower, albeit off their worst levels of the day. Mike Hunter has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

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• The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 27 points to 13,583 after being down as many as 58 points in early action. The S&P 500 finished lower by 5 points to 1456 and the NASDAQ fell 24 points to close at 3112.
• Stocks were under pressure throughout the session as investors weighed concerns over slowing global growth after the World Bank reduced its 2012 growth forecast for Eastern Asia.
• Eight of the 10 sectors on the S&P finished lower, led by losses in tech stocks. Shares of Apple paced the decline, giving up $14.42 to $638.17 on reports of further disruptions at their Foxconn plant in China.
• Also in the space, Hewlett-Packard continues to lose ground, falling 27 cents to $14.46 following their reduced earnings expectations last week and discouraging analyst comments today.
• In other news, Marathon Petroleum rallied $2.98 to $57.85 after the company announced plans to purchase a refinery from BP.
• Also on the upside, Barnes & Noble gained $1.02 to $14.35 following reports that preorders for their Nook tablet were at record levels.
• Composite volume on the NYSE was 2.3 billion shares with declining issues besting advancers by a margin of 3-2. The NASDAQ was 2-1 negative on issues.
• Turning to fixed income, Treasury markets were closed in observance of Columbus Day, but will resume trade Tuesday.

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