Renewed Concerns Surrounding Europe Help Bring Stocks Lower – Acadiana Business Index

Stocks finished lower on Monday. Ken Meyers has your stock market update on the Acadiana Business Index.

• The Dow fell 130 points to 13880. The S&P 500 retreated 17 points to 1495. The NASDAQ declined 48 points to end the session at 3131. The major averages experienced profit taking Monday amid renewed concerns surrounding Europe.
• Monday’s economic data also failed to lift the market. Shortly after the open, a report showed U.S. factory orders rose 1.8% in December, below projections for a 2.3% increase.
• All 10 sectors in the S&P 500 finished in negative territory led by a decline in technology. Apple fell 2.5% to $442.32 while Google retreated 2.1% to $759.02. Shares of Acme Packet rallied 23.7% to $29.59 after it agreed to be acquired by Oracle for $1.7 billion. On the earnings front, Gannett fell 6.7% to $18.51 after the media company lowered its first-quarter forecast. Humana added 4.7% to $78.86 after posting better-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of McGraw-Hill declined 13.8% to $50.30 on reports the Department of Justice plans to file a civil suit against the company’s Standard & Poor’s unit related to its mortgage bond ratings prior to the 2007 financial crisis.
• Breadth was negative on issues by a 4-1 margin on the NYSE and 7-2 on the NASDAQ. Composite volume on the NYSE totaled more than 3.3 billion shares.
• Treasuries advanced with the 10-year note up 15/32 to yield 1.96%.

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