US close: Dow Jones has worst month in two years

Date: Thursday 31 May 2012

Declines were seen across the board in the US on Thursday, capping a rough month in which all three of the major indices suffered a six per cent or higher fall.

The Dow Jones lost 6.2% during the four week period, its worst for two years.

Thursday's losses were attributed to a number of economic indicators which came in below expectations, the most significant of which was the downwards revision of first-quarter gross domestic product growth to 1.9% from 2.2% on an annualised basis.

The US private sector added fewer-than-expected jobs in May, according to payrolls processor Automatic Data Processing (ADP).

Some 133,000 jobs were created in the private sector this month, ADP said, while April’s reading was revised lower from 119,000 to 113,000. The consensus estimate was for 150,000 new jobs to be added.

Data from the Labor Department worsened the mood, with the agency saying first time jobless claims increased by 10,000 to 383,000 last week.

Continuing concern over the European debt crisis also put pressure on stocks.

Companies

Netflix, the online video provider, spent much of the day in decline after BofA/Merrill Lynch slashed its 2012 earnings forecast based on the company’s international expansion and concerns that US streaming growth could slow. The stock has declined 21% in the past month.

Retailer Kohls also fell after reporting like-for-like sales in May were down 4.2% on the year before, considerably more than the 1.2% predicted.

TiVo, the digital video recorder technology company, also headed south after the stock was downgraded from "buy" to "neutral" by Lazard Capital Markets.

Meanwhile, retailer Bon-Ton leapt on news of a 1.5% rise in sales during May.

Canada's CGI Group was also a big riser after unveiling plans to buy rival business services company Logica for around $2.63bn.

Facebook shares closed slightly higher following late trading gains while fellow tech sector stock Intel dropped after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the stock with an underweight rating, blaming slower growth and possible margin decline.

Other markets

The July West Texas Intermediate crude futures contract fell by 1.47% to $86.53 a barrel in NYMEX trading.

10-year US treasuries rose by 18/32 dollars, with yields at 1.56%.


S&P 500 - Risers
Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) $34.98 +3.92%
SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) $22.93 +3.43%
International Game Technology (IGT) $14.31 +3.32%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $16.90 +2.82%
TJX Companies Inc. (TJX) $42.46 +2.72%
Tellabs Inc. (TLAB) $3.66 +2.52%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $12.66 +2.43%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $46.34 +2.25%
Avon Products Inc. (AVP) $16.54 +2.22%
Morgan Stanley (MS) $13.36 +2.06%

S&P 500 - Fallers
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $12.57 -6.19%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $45.81 -6.17%
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) $47.78 -6.09%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $63.45 -5.78%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $47.40 -5.73%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $49.40 -5.62%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $20.28 -5.23%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $66.50 -4.76%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $22.13 -4.67%
Noble Corp (NE) $31.27 -4.08%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $7.34 +1.94%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $45.71 +1.13%
AT&T Inc. (T) $34.18 +1.00%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $62.49 +0.97%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $98.31 +0.70%
American Express Co. (AXP) $55.82 +0.65%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $65.86 +0.64%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $33.16 +0.61%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.65 +0.56%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $74.11 +0.50%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $87.59 -2.87%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $78.79 -1.25%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $25.85 -1.07%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $192.87 -0.85%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $89.40 -0.79%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $49.40 -0.62%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $29.20 -0.48%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $16.32 -0.43%
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $38.26 -0.39%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $74.77 -0.39%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $213.00 +1.80%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $26.48 +1.18%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $63.29 +1.18%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $67.44 +1.11%
Nll Holdings Inc. (NIHD) $11.52 +0.96%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $45.89 +0.95%
Flextronics International Ltd. (FLEX) $6.42 +0.94%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $57.13 +0.72%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $86.39 +0.68%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $21.67 +0.65%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $12.57 -6.19%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $49.40 -5.62%
Warner Chilcott Plc (WCRX) $18.88 -3.87%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $13.62 -3.75%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $23.44 -3.62%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $43.07 -2.84%
DIRECTV (DTV) $44.46 -2.80%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $32.73 -2.65%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $77.97 -2.17%
Virgin Media Inc. (VMED) $22.04 -2.00%

NR

« Go back to news channel

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE