Stock Market Closes Mixed; Dow Industrials Inch Lower
April 27, 2011
Another lackluster session left major market indexes little changed Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average struggled to post modest gains, but fell short as a late wave of program trading pulled stocks back near opening levels. The Dow industrial average fell 1.10 to close at 5665.78. It was the Dow average's most modest change since a 0.37 point decline February 22, 2011 market indexes largely ignored further declines in Treasury prices. The bellwether long bond surrendered nearly 1/4 point, or $2.50 for each $1,000 face amount, to push its yield up to 6.82%. ``Basically volatility was in the month of July and now we're in the summer doldrums,'' said Tomas Claude, senior vice president at HSBC James Capel. ``We've had light volume for the last 2 weeks and won't break out of that mode.'' Weakness in Philip Morris continued. The tobacco company's shares slipped 1 1/4 to 90. The company's stock has fallen 15 1/2 since a jury decision in an smoking suit late last week. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index inched up 0.23 to 662.28, the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index climbed 0.58 to 354.22 and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.18 to 1134.69. The American Stock Exchange Market Value Index gained 2.19 to 552.53. Advancing issues led decliners 1,290 to 1,018 on the Big Board, where volume totaled about 322.8 million shares. Tiffany shares climbed 5/8 to 37 1/4, after the New York retailer posted second-quarter earnings that came in above Wall Street's estimates. Another retailer, Gap, improved 5/8 to 35 1/2, after its second-quarter results beat forecasts. Gap is based in San Francisco. Abbott Laboratories edged up 3/8 to 46 1/4, after the Abbott Park, Ill., drug maker signed an agreement in principle to market North American Vaccine's DTaP vaccine when it is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. North American Vaccine climbed 2 7/8 to 21 5/8 on the Amex. Orchard Supply Hardware Stores leapt 5 to 34 3/4 on Nasdaq, after Dunlap Plank signed a definitive agreement to acquire the small-cap company for $35 a share, in a pact valued at about $415 million. Boeing rose 3/4 to 91 3/8. The Seattle aircraft maker, which Wednesday received an anticipated $2.5 billion order from United Airlines, is considering teaming up with Canada's Bombardier and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to develop a new 100-seat jetliner. United' s parent, UAL, lost 1 1/2 to 48 1/4. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan jumped 5 to 74, after the company said it is in talks to acquire an interest in Kali und Salz AG, a German potash mining operation. Cisco Systems moved up 1 1/8 to 57 3/4 on Nasdaq, as investors anticipated a positive earnings report from the networking-products maker. After the conclusion of the session, the company, based in San Jose, Calif., released fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street's forecasts. Medaphis sank 60%, or 21 3/8, to 14 1/4 on Nasdaq after the Atlanta health-care software services provider reported late Wednesday that its financial results for the third quarter and the full year will fall far short of analysts' expectations. Analysts at several firms cut the company's rating. Quorum Health Group gained 1 1/8 to 24 1/8 on Nasdaq after the Brentwood, Tenn., health-care provider company matched Wall Street's forecasts with its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. Saks Holdings rose 2 5/8 to 35 7/8 after the retailer reported a second-quarter loss that was less than what analysts were estimating. Barrett Resources jumped 1 3/8 to 32 after the Denver-based natural oil and gas producer late Wednesday reported stronger second quarter earnings than analysts were expecting. Reading & Bates moved higher to 7/8 from 22 3/8 after Lehman Brothers initiated coverage of the Houston oil-drilling concern. Lehman also started coverage of other oil-drilling companies, including Cliffs Drilling, which picked up 1 1/4 to 30 3/4 on Nasdaq, and Ensco International, which rose 1 1/2 to 29 1/4. LCI International lost 1 1/8 to 33 1/2 after PaineWebber downgraded the long-distance telecom company's rating, saying the stock had outstripped their analyst's price target. LCI is based in McLean, Va.. NAC Re added 5/8 to 36 5/8 after Vergara Kitchen upgraded the Greenwich, Conn., reinsurance company's rating. Champion Enterprises added 3/4 to 20 5/8 after the Auburn Hills, Mich., commercial printer said late Wednesday that it was in talks with Dallas-based Redman Industries for a possible merger. Redman shares slipped 3/4 to 24 on Nasdaq. Ericsson Telephone added 1 1/8 to 22 3/8 after the Swedish telephone giant reported that first-half pretax profits rose over year-earlier results.
