Stocks fluctuate amid anxiety over profits
Stocks fluctuated in a narrow range as investors shied from placing big bets following several days of selling and after aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. reported late Monday that it lost $1.19 billion during the fourth quarter as demand for aluminum plunged. Investors saw the report as a troubling example of the range of companies that are being hit hard by the recession.
"Alcoa is a harbinger of things to come," said Jeff Buetow, senior portfolio manager at Portfolio Management Consultants. "It was a horrible report."
There was some upbeat news. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that the trade deficit fell to its lowest level in five years. The deficit narrowed 28.7 percent to $40.4 billion in November from $56.7 billion in October as demand for oil dropped by a record amount.
But questions about corporate earnings are likely to dominate trading in the coming weeks. Investors are watching closely for companies' expectations for business conditions in 2009. Computer chip maker Intel Corp. and drug company Genentech Inc. are among the companies reporting results this week.
Meanwhile, Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley are expected to announce a deal as soon as Wednesday to combine their brokerage operations as Citi struggles to raise additional cash.
In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 25.33, or 0.30 percent, to 8,499.30 after briefly moving lower.
Broader indexes also rose but at times dipped into losses. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 2.55, or 0.29 percent, to 827.81, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 12.67, or 0.82 percent, to 1,551.46.
Comments
- Kurt Bestor: Joy for the world 3:02 p.m.
- School drops required fitness class 2:55 p.m.
- 2 people, 43 horses dead in barn fire 2:47 p.m.
- New Kurosawa DVD gift set 2:19 p.m.
- Baucus: Girlfriend merited post 2:09 p.m.
- Medicare cuts focus of health debate 2:03 p.m.
- Pike rallies Cincinnati past Pitt 2:01 p.m.
- Cigarette sparks WJ house fire 1:55 p.m.
- Snowy roads cause accidents, delays 1:38 p.m.
- Fireplace ignites blaze in family room 1:07 p.m.
- Why is Y. ignoring spew of hatred?
302 - BYU says Hall incident resolved
247 - Letters: Liberal because LDS
244 - 2 citations issued at Y.-U. game
189 - Hate not limited to 1 in-state rivalry
188 - Aggies shoot past Cougars
179 - Y. profs: Beck not all-knowing
161 - N.Y. Senate rejects gay marriage
122 - Max Hall: a fixture in rivalry lore
118 - Unbeaten BYU takes trip to Logan
105
Trolley Square's annual Holiday Open House will feature visits with...
First, a big thank you to all who posted questions here for me to ask...
Do you know what unicorns, dragons, elves, gnomes, mermaids, and gays have in...
Good post.
Y 2:14, there is no national championship. there is a BcS champion and a...
to Re:Digbads But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed...
Democrats cried that seniors would die (if the rate of tax spending slowed on...
I most strongly disagree! Until we can teach math in a way that helps kids...
It's sad to see the nay-sayers commenting here. Let's celebrate the...
I am sick of all the comments claiming that Utah is in a rebuilding year....
Under Bush's incompetent military leadership Europeans weren't willing to...
Who drinks this crud anyway?!? Just eat wholesome food made from scratch and...


You can be the first to comment on this story.