Stocks barely budge as Europe fears remain - CNN

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NEW YORK?(CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were little changed Tuesday, following a bruising previous session, as fears about the eurozone debt crisis spreading continued to rattle investors.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 15 points, or 0.1%, with American Express (AXP, Fortune 500), Travelers Companies (TRV, Fortune 500) and Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) leading the small advance.
The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 1 point, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) fell 5 points, or 0.3%.
Microchip (MCHP)'s stock dragged on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, as the tech firm's shares slumped 13%. The company lowered its earnings guidance, saying supply disruptions resulting from the Japanese earthquake were impacting its automotive business.
U.S. stocks tumbled Monday, as investors got spooked by worries about how far and deep Europe's debt crisis might spread.
Manoj Ladwa, senior trader at ETX Capital, said contagion fears are likely to stay center stage for investors on Tuesday.
"That's the main concern for the markets," Ladwa said. "Exactly how far this crisis is going to spread."
The yield on 10-year Italian bonds continued to spike, as investors demand higher interest rates in exchange for holding the country's debt. On Tuesday, yields approached 6% -- an elevated premium over the German bund.
Ladwa said yields will rise even higher if the stress tests scheduled for European banks come back worse than expected, and the Italian 10-year bond could spike above 7% if the country's banks perform poorly.
World markets: European stocks fell in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.8%, the DAX in Germany retreated 0.6%, and France's CAC 40 stumbled 1%.
Asian markets ended the session sharply lower. The Shanghai Composite dropped 1.7%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong tumbled 3.1% and Japan's Nikkei lost 1.4%.
U.S. Treasuries: Investors have been pouring into U.S. Treasuries as uncertainty surrounding Europe's debt problems grows. Treasuries are considered "safer" havens in times of uncertainty since it's backed by the U.S. government.
The price on the benchmark 10-year note rose, pushing the yield down to 2.88% from 2.92% late Monday.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar hit a nearly four-month high against the euro at $1.39. The greenback also gained against the British pound, but fell versus the Japanese yen.
Oil for August delivery slipped 50 cents to $94.65 a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery rose $2.80 to $1,552 an ounce.
Economy: The U.S. trade balance figures for May came in at $50.2 billion -- far larger than a revised $43.6 billion in April. The trade deficit was also wider than the $44 billion expected by economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
In the afternoon, the Federal Reserve's will release the minutes from its Federal Open Market Committee meeting in June.
Companies: News Corp.'s (NWSA, Fortune 500) stock jumped 2% after the media giant announced a $5 billion stock buyback program.
Adding to the tech sector's pain, shares of Novellus Systems (NVLS) fell 8%, after the company delivered disappointing quarterly results and guidance.
After the closing bell Monday, Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) reported a larger than expected gain in second-quarter sales but investors weren't impressed.
While Alcoa beat on sales, earnings were only in line with recently lowered analyst estimates. Shares slid 0.3% in early trading. 
First Published: July 12, 2011: 9:39 AM ET
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Stocks drop as job report disappoints - CNNMoney

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NEW YORK?(CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks posted broad losses on Friday as Wall Street dealt with a dismal June jobs report that showed hiring crawled to a near standstill last month.

"We now have a clear indication of a stall in the U.S. economic recovery," said Frank Davis, director of sales and trading with LEK Securities.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) sank 62 points, or 0.5%, to close at 12,657. The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 9 points, or 0.7%, to 1,344; and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) fell 13 points, or 0.5%, to 2,860.

Investors focused on the Labor Department's jobs report, which showed the U.S. economy created only 18,000 jobs last month, a fraction of the 120,000 jobs that a CNNMoney survey of 27 economists had forecast.

June's unemployment rate rose to 9.2% from 9.1%, versus the decline to 9% economists had expected.

"There's no way to spin today's number into a way that's positive," said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist with Charles Schwab.

Investor reaction to the report was broadly negative. Twenty three of the 30 Dow members ended the session in the negative, with Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) the biggest laggards among the blue chips.

Meanwhile bond yields swooned as investors flooded into the relative safety of government bonds. Gold prices rose as well.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year note briefly fell below the 3% mark, down from Thursday's yield of 3.14%. Energy-related commodities also sold off, with oil falling more than 2.5%.

"We have had many, many months to stimulate this economy and still not seeing businesses hire," Davis said. "It's a real concern."

The government's jobs report came as a sharp contrast to two stronger-than-anticipated reports released Thursday on the employment market, which helped U.S. stocks rise sharply yesterday.

Despite today's losses, all three indexes posted gains in this holiday-shortened week. The Dow rose 0.4% while the S&P rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq rose 1.4%.

Companies: News Corp. (NWSA, Fortune 500) was the worst performer on the S&P 500 on Friday, sinking 4%, as the company continues to deal with the fallout stemming from the "News of the World" hacking scandal. Investors expressed concern that the hacking scandal may stop regulators from approving News Corp.'s bid to purchase British TV provider BSkyB.

Shares of JDS Uniphase (JDSU) fell 4.5% after Piper Jaffray lowered its price target on the stock to $21 from $25.

Economy: The Commerce Department said May wholesale inventories rose 1.8%, better than the 0.9% that economists had expected.

U.S. consumer credit rose by a seasonally-adjusted rate of 2.5% in May, the Federal Reserve said Friday. It was the eighth-straight monthly increase for that figure.

World markets: European markets ended Friday's session solidly lower after the jobs report. Britain's FTSE 100 ticked down by 1.1%, the DAX in Germany lost 0.9% and France's CAC 40 fell 1.5%.

Asian markets finished the week with gains. The Shanghai Composite ticked up 0.1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 0.9% and Japan's Nikkei rose 0.7%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for August delivery fell $2.47, or 2.5% to $96.20 a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery gained $11 to $1,541.60 an ounce.  

First Published: July 8, 2011: 9:44 AM ET

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