Mid-way through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.16
percent to 13,329.93 while the NASDAQ fell 0.05 percent to
3,052.86. The S&P also fell, decreasing 0.27 percent to
1,442.25.
Top Headline
The U.S. treasury department announced this morning that it would
be liquidating its position in General Motors (NYSE:
GM
) over the next year and a half that it had acquired as part of
the TARP program. As part of the exit, GM will purchase 200
million of the shares owned by the treasury department at a price
of $27.50 per share. This lead to a rally of a little over 8
percent in early trading.
Equities Trading UP
Alterra Capital Holdings (NASDAQ:
ALTE
) saw a 23.93 percent boost to $28.69 Wednesday morning as Markel
announced it would buy the company for $3.1 billion.
Shares of Knight Capital Group (NYSE:
KCG
) were up as well, gaining 6.01 percent to $3.53 after the
announcement that Getco would acquire the company this
morning.
Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:
SWHC
) traded up 8.87 percent to $8.48 after taking a beating over the
past few days. The rally was a common theme across the gun stocks
Wednesday morning as news of increased firearm sales in the wake
of the Newton shooting Friday reached the street.
Equities Trading DOWN
Navistar (NYSE:
NAV
) dropped 5.38 percent to $21.62 in early trading after the
company posted a poor earnings release Wednesday morning.
Affymax (NASDAQ:
AFFY
) was also down, dropping 10.00 percent to $20.07 after its drug
Omontys' sales fell 23 percent in November.
Finally, Shares of Actuant (NYSE:
ATU
) were down as well, falling 6.72 percent to $27.61 after posting
an earnings and revenue miss before the market opening
Wednesday.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 2.15 percent to $89.82, while
gold traded up 0.06 percent to $1,670.50.
Silver traded down 0.51 percent Wednesday to $31.09.
Eurozone
European markets saw a boost this morning as confidence continued
to rise about a fiscal cliff deal in Washington. Leading the
charge was the Spanish Ibex, up over 1.5 percent, followed
closely by the Italian MIB index which was up 0.78 percent.
While a nearing deal in Washington helped fuel the rally,
German business confidence lent a hand as it rose to 102.4 ,
forecasting future growth in the Euro zone's biggest economy.
Economics
In economic news, building permits came in at 3.60 percent, well
above the anticipated 0.80 percent and the prior figure of -2.70
percent.
Housing starts were not so optimistic, coming in at -3.0
percent, below the expected -2.5 percent and well below the
previous release of 3.60 percent.
MBA mortgage applications were also reported, coming in at
-12.30 percent, far below the last report of 6.2 percent.
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