Oil Almost Hit $67 per barrel this weekend
US stocks flat on oil price; Delta drops on report
http://za.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-08-15T150811Z_01_BAN551885_RTRIDST_0_OZABS-MARKETS-USA-STOCKS-20050815.XML
Mon Aug 15, 2005 5:08 PM GMT
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday, with oil prices near record levels stirring concerns economic growth and companies' earnings would suffer in the second half of the year.
"The earnings outlook for the remainder of the year is not so strong," said Brian Piskorowski, a market analyst at Wachovia Securities LLC. in Richmond. "Investors may not be willing to commit new cash into stocks, given that outlook and the fact we have oil prices at record levels."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 19.43 points, or 0.18 percent, at 10,582.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.64 points, or 0.14 percent, at 1,228.75. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 4.62 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,152.36.
Although U.S. crude oil futures nudged lower on Monday they were still near $67 a barrel after the weekend passed without adding to refinery outages that threaten to strain gasoline supplies. September crude oil futures eased 21 cents to $66.65 on NYMEX.
Demand for stocks may also fall after Merrill Lynch & Co., the largest U.S. brokerage, raised its recommended cash allocation and lowered its stocks allocation, saying cash is becoming a more competitive asset class. On August 9 the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate for a 10th time to 3.50 percent.
"Higher interest rates may attract some investors to cash investments in the short term," said Wachovia's Piskorowski. "But in the long run, we still think stocks will outperform bonds and cash investments."
Delta Air Lines was the worst performer in the S&P 500. The stock plunged 14.91 percent to $1.37 after the New York Times reported on Saturday that the struggling air carrier has begun arranging the financing it would need should it seek bankruptcy protection. ID:nN13672371
Shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc., the U.S. largest home furnishings retailer, fell 2.37 percent to $43.28 after MarketWatch reported on its Web site that Goldman Sachs downgraded the housewares retailer. ID:nBNG140002
In earnings news, Lowe's Cos., the world's No. 2 home-improvement retailer, announced a 20 percent increase in second-quarter profit, topping analysts' estimates. The company's shares rose initially but later fell 38 cents to
$64.85.
Shares of Time Warner Inc. rose 16 cents to $18.41 after billionaire investor Carl Icahn urged Time Warner in a statement to separate its cable business and buy back at least $20 billion worth of its stock, saying management has not done enough for shareholders.
Icahn, who along with several hedge funds owns over 120 million shares of Time Warner, said he plans to meet this week with Time Warner Chief Executive Richard Parsons.
One of the top gainers on the S&P was Agilent Technologies Inc., the world's largest maker of scientific-testing equipment. Shares rose 12.5 percent to $29.79 after the company announced it will cut 1,300 jobs and sell its semiconductor business.
Shares in media company Dow Jones & Co. Inc. rose about 15 percent to $42.55 following a report in the New York Post that members of its controlling shareholder family were pressing for a sale of the Wall Street Journal publisher.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
http://za.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-08-15T150811Z_01_BAN551885_RTRIDST_0_OZABS-MARKETS-USA-STOCKS-20050815.XML
Mon Aug 15, 2005 5:08 PM GMT
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday, with oil prices near record levels stirring concerns economic growth and companies' earnings would suffer in the second half of the year.
"The earnings outlook for the remainder of the year is not so strong," said Brian Piskorowski, a market analyst at Wachovia Securities LLC. in Richmond. "Investors may not be willing to commit new cash into stocks, given that outlook and the fact we have oil prices at record levels."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 19.43 points, or 0.18 percent, at 10,582.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.64 points, or 0.14 percent, at 1,228.75. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 4.62 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,152.36.
Although U.S. crude oil futures nudged lower on Monday they were still near $67 a barrel after the weekend passed without adding to refinery outages that threaten to strain gasoline supplies. September crude oil futures eased 21 cents to $66.65 on NYMEX.
Demand for stocks may also fall after Merrill Lynch & Co., the largest U.S. brokerage, raised its recommended cash allocation and lowered its stocks allocation, saying cash is becoming a more competitive asset class. On August 9 the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate for a 10th time to 3.50 percent.
"Higher interest rates may attract some investors to cash investments in the short term," said Wachovia's Piskorowski. "But in the long run, we still think stocks will outperform bonds and cash investments."
Delta Air Lines was the worst performer in the S&P 500. The stock plunged 14.91 percent to $1.37 after the New York Times reported on Saturday that the struggling air carrier has begun arranging the financing it would need should it seek bankruptcy protection. ID:nN13672371
Shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc., the U.S. largest home furnishings retailer, fell 2.37 percent to $43.28 after MarketWatch reported on its Web site that Goldman Sachs downgraded the housewares retailer. ID:nBNG140002
In earnings news, Lowe's Cos., the world's No. 2 home-improvement retailer, announced a 20 percent increase in second-quarter profit, topping analysts' estimates. The company's shares rose initially but later fell 38 cents to
$64.85.
Shares of Time Warner Inc. rose 16 cents to $18.41 after billionaire investor Carl Icahn urged Time Warner in a statement to separate its cable business and buy back at least $20 billion worth of its stock, saying management has not done enough for shareholders.
Icahn, who along with several hedge funds owns over 120 million shares of Time Warner, said he plans to meet this week with Time Warner Chief Executive Richard Parsons.
One of the top gainers on the S&P was Agilent Technologies Inc., the world's largest maker of scientific-testing equipment. Shares rose 12.5 percent to $29.79 after the company announced it will cut 1,300 jobs and sell its semiconductor business.
Shares in media company Dow Jones & Co. Inc. rose about 15 percent to $42.55 following a report in the New York Post that members of its controlling shareholder family were pressing for a sale of the Wall Street Journal publisher.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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