Consumer spending fall sends US stocks low

11 years ago | Posted in: Business | 616 Views

US stocks were lower in early trade amid a flurry of mixed indicators, with a slowdown in consumer spending partly offset by a surge in the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.

About 45 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 40.27 points (0.26 per cent) at 15,284.26.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 5.95 (0.36 per cent) to 1,648.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite lost 7.42 (0.21 per cent) at 3,483.88.

Stocks remained volatile after the Commerce Department reported that consumer spending dropped by 0.2 per cent last month, the first monthly fall since May 2012 and a signal that growth slowed at the beginning of the second quarter.

Offsetting that was a jump in the Chicago area to 58.7, its highest since March 2012, and the Michigan confidence barometer, which rose to a better-than-expected 83.7, the highest since July 2007.

Among top-traded stocks, insurer AIG fell 2.7 per cent, Amazon rose 1.2 per cent and Morgan Stanley added 1.2 per cent.

Facebook added to its 5.3 per cent gain Thursday, rising another 0.7 per cent on the back of analyst upgrades.

A day after their bidding war for broadband carrier Clearwire heated up, Dish Networks fell 0.7 per cent while Sprint lost 0.5 per cent. Clearwire shares were down 0.9 per cent.

Computer chip maker Omnivision Technologies soared 18.0 per cent after it turned in a strong jump in profits for its fiscal fourth quarter, to $8.9 million from $2.7 million a year earlier, on a 54 per cent climb in revenues.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.16 per cent from 2.12 per cent late Thursday while the 30-year rose to 3.31 per cent from 3.29 per cent. Bond prices move inversely to yields.
source: http://www.news.com.au

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