NST Online Business Times : latest
NST Online Business Times : latest |
| Posted: 05 Dec 2012 03:57 PM PST NEW YORK: US stocks closed mostly higher Wednesday after some upbeat data on the huge services sector, but market chatter about Apple's prospects sent it tumbling 6.4 percent, weighing on the tech-rich Nasdaq. Financials moved higher as Citigroup surged 6.3 percent to $36.46, on its announcement of plans to cut four percent of its workforce to slash costs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day up 82.71 points (0.64 percent) to finish at 13,034.49. The S&P 500-stock index rose 2.23 points (0.16 percent) to 1,409.28 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 22.99 (0.77 percent) to 2,973.70.
Apple shares fell $37.05 to $538.79. The decline in the stock, which peaked above $700 in September, came as IDC forecast Apple's worldwide tablet share to slip to 53.8 percent this year from 56.3 percent in 2011. Internet radio Pandora Media plummeted 17.5 percent after reporting third-quarter earnings and revenue above forecasts but offering disappointing guidance for the current quarter. US economic data was generally positive. The Institute for Supply Management's monthly index on activity in the services sector rose to 54.7, from 54.2 in October. Bank of America jumped 5.7 percent, JPMorgan Chase added 1.6 percent and Morgan Stanley was up 2.2 percent. Travelers gained 4.9 percent after saying it will resume share buybacks that had been suspended to estimate damage from superstorm Sandy. The insurer put its net losses from the storm at a preliminary US$650 million. Mining giant Freeport-McMoRan plunged 16 percent after announcing it will buy Plains Exploration for US$6.9 billion and McMoRan Exploration for US$2.1 billion. Plains leaped 23.4 percent and McMoRan Exploration skyrocketed 87 percent. -- AFP |
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