U.S. stock markets have reversed course sharply, recovering from
a morning beat down that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average post
an early triple-digit loss.
Its recovery came after House Speaker John Boehner made
optimistic comments that a deal on the so-called 'fiscal cliff'
issue can be reached. But the Nasdaq and S&P 500 averages have
been slower in clawing their way back to the plus side thus
far.
Markets opened lower across the board as investors remain
nervous over talks on the so-called 'fiscal cliff' issue. Stocks
picked up where they left off Tuesday: sliding south. Fueling fears
of another market-drubbing repeat of last year's Congressional
failure to deal with the U.S. debt situation in an effective way,
were downbeat comments from Majority Senate Leader Harry Reid, who
stated that Congress had made little progress in reaching a deal to
avoid the automatic end-of-year tax increases and spending
cuts.
Adding to the negative sentiment was weaker-than-expected new
home sales data. New home sales in October hit an annualized rate
of 368,000, which is down from September's revised rate of 369,000,
and worse than the rate of 388,000 that had been broadly expected
by the Briefing.com consensus.
Asian markets ended lower on Wednesday, spooked by all the
speculation and talk about the 'fiscal cliff' negotiations in the
United States. In Europe, stocks were initially lower despite
reports that the European Commission approved the restructuring
plans for four of Spain's weakest banks, clearing the way for them
to receive nearly 37 billion euros in bailout cash from the
euro-zone's bailout fund. European bourses have rebounded into the
black, however, on U.S. equities' whipsaw move back into the
black.
In individual stock news of note, shares of Green Mountain
Coffee Roasters (
GMCR
) are now up 24% after the company announced bullish quarterly
earnings and forward guidance yesterday after the close.
Commodity prices were uniformly lower at mid-day, with oil for
December delivery down $1.07 to $86.11 a barrel. December natural
gas was down $0.117 to $3.652 per million BTUs.
December gold futures were down $26.10 per ounce to $1718.70.
December silver was down $0.454 to $33.62 per ounce. December
copper was down $0.0135 to $3.5375.
Here's where the markets stood:
NYSE Composite now up 16 points at 8,166.8.
Dow Jones Industrial Average up 62.30 to 12,940.4.
S&P 500 now up 3.15 to 1,402.4.
Nasdaq Composite Index now up 5.58 to 2,973.
GLOBAL SENTIMENT:
Nikkei 225 Index down 1.22%
Hang Seng Index down 0.62%
Shanghai China Composite Index down 0.89%
FTSE 100 Index up 0.06%
DAX up 0.24%
CAC 40 up 0.37%
NYSE SECTOR INDICES:
NYSE Energy Sector Index (^NYE) down 24.75 (-0.20%) at
12,248.44
NYSE Financial Sector Index (^NYK) down 8.61(-0.18%) to
4,812.89
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index (^NYP) up 19.34 (+0.25%) to
7,767.64
UPSIDE MOVERS:
(+) KCG (+14.1%) Shares catch a bid after company confirms that
it has received a proposal letter from Getco. As a matter of
policy, KCG does not comment on interactions with shareholders or
shareholder activities including filings.
(+) GALE (+9.5%) Coverage of the company was initiated at Aegis
with a Buy rating and a target price of $6, more than three times
the stock's current trading price.
(+) GPOR (+16.4% to near 52 week highs) Shares jump after the
company released test results on its Shugert 1-12H well in the
Utica Shale.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS:
(-) AMSC (-7%, went near 52 week lows) Shares plunge just above
their year bottom following the company's removal from a trading
halt, in the wake of an announcement that it has reduced its
workforce by approximately 25%, and is consolidating office space
to lower operating costs and enhance liquidity.
(-) TFM (-14%) Stock is down after the company reported Q3
earnings of $0.23 per share, below the Capital IQ consensus of
$0.26. Revenues were $321.5 mln, versus the analyst estimate of
$318.60 mln.
(-) JOSB (-7.6%) Shares under pressure after the company earlier
reported Q3 earnings of $0.47 per share, versus the Capital IQ
consensus of $0.56. Revenues were $232.9 mln, versus the analyst
estimate of $231.83 mln.