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Updated from 12:37 p.m. EST

Wall Street was stumbling Thursday as tech stocks deteriorated amid a selloff in Apple (AAPL) and a flood of economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by a point at 12,576, and the S&P 500 was giving back 2 points, or 0.1%, at 1429. The Nasdaq Composite, however, was lower by 26 points, or 1.1%, at 2453.

The moves came after the release of the Labor Department’s consumer price index for December. The index was up 0.5%, compared with expectations for an increase of 0.4%. The so-called core index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2%, matching estimates.

Core inflation, a closely monitored figure, is now up 2.6% over the past year. The data follow by a day the latest reading of the producer price index, which rose 0.9% last month, a greater-than-expected increase. The core PPI was up 0.2%, also ahead of forecasts. The PPI report measures inflation at the wholesale level.

The CPI is considered the more important of the two when it comes to influencing Federal Reserve decisions on interest rates, but both are factored in to the central bank’s planning.

Peter Morici, professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission, said that there will likely be no change in Fed interest rate policy following the CPI number.

In an emailed statement, he said that “more favorable news on core inflation will be needed for the Federal Reserve to lower its guard.”

Also on the economic docket, the Commerce Department said U.S. housing starts increased 4.5% in December to 1.64 million annualized units. Economists expected housing starts to decline slightly. Building permits were 5.5% higher for the month.

Additionally, the Philadelphia Fed said its manufacturing index rose to a reading of 8.3 in January, compared to negative 2.3 in December. The government also said initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell by 8,000 to 290,000 for the week ended Jan. 12. Economists were predicting a rise to 315,000 claims.

On top of all the data, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was speaking on Capitol Hill. Though his prepared testimony featured no remarks on monetary policy, he did warn that budget deficits could prevent the U.S. from solving its economic problems.

Treasuries were holding steady, with the benchmark 10-year note up 3/32 in price to yield 4.77%. The dollar was rising against the euro and the yen.

The U.S. market is coming off a session in which tech stocks were hit by a selloff in Intel (INTC) . Blue chips also slipped, but not nearly as dramatically as the technology sector. The same pattern was being repeated as the new day continued.

One of the biggest drags was Apple (AAPL) . After the previous close, the company posted blowout numbers for the most recent quarter but offered conservative guidance. Shares of the computer and iPod maker were down about 4.6%, despite numerous price target upgrades.

As for other earnings, Merrill Lynch (MER) was off 0.2% even after the broker reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.35 billion, or $2.41 a share, a surge of 68% from the same quarter a year ago. Results handily beat the Thomson First Call consensus.

Merrill also said it will raise its quarterly dividend 40% to 35 cents a share. The stock was lower by 15 cents at $96.66.

The Bank of New York (BK) reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations by 3 cents. Revenue came in at $1.89 billion, also ahead of forecasts. The Bank of New York was gaining 75 cents, or 1.9%, to $41.

Meanwhile, Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) saw fourth-quarter earnings drop 80% from a year ago but still trumped the average estimate. Shares were adding 1.3% to $40.15.

Harley-Davidson (HOG) , Knight Capital (NITE) and Continental Airlines also topped analysts’ expectations.

Among those missing expectations was drug giant Novartis (NVS) , and its shares were edging lower by $1.37, or 2.3%, to $58.16.

Away from stocks, oil prices resumed their slide following the Energy Department’s weekly inventory report. Crude, which halted its recent decline on Wednesday by surging above $52 a barrel, was lately down $1.92 at $50.32. Most other commodities were lower.

The report showed that crude inventories unexpectedly rose by 6.8 million barrels last week. Distillate supplies rose by 900,000 barrels, and gasoline stocks climbed by 3.5 million barrels.

Precious metals were losing ground in a choppy session. Gold was falling $4.10 at $629.20 an ounce, and silver was off 19 cents to $12.70 an ounce.

Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.6% to 17,371, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was higher by 1.1% to 20,277. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 6210. Germany’s Xetra DAX dipped by 0.2% to 6689.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 27th, 2007 at 3:53 pm and is filed under Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Updated from 12:37 p.m. EST

Wall Street was stumbling Thursday as tech stocks deteriorated amid a selloff in Apple (AAPL) and a flood of economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by a point at 12,576, and the S&P 500 was giving back 2 points, or 0.1%, at 1429. The Nasdaq Composite, however, was lower by 26 points, or 1.1%, at 2453.

The moves came after the release of the Labor Department’s consumer price index for December. The index was up 0.5%, compared with expectations for an increase of 0.4%. The so-called core index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2%, matching estimates.

Core inflation, a closely monitored figure, is now up 2.6% over the past year. The data follow by a day the latest reading of the producer price index, which rose 0.9% last month, a greater-than-expected increase. The core PPI was up 0.2%, also ahead of forecasts. The PPI report measures inflation at the wholesale level.

The CPI is considered the more important of the two when it comes to influencing Federal Reserve decisions on interest rates, but both are factored in to the central bank’s planning.

Peter Morici, professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission, said that there will likely be no change in Fed interest rate policy following the CPI number.

In an emailed statement, he said that “more favorable news on core inflation will be needed for the Federal Reserve to lower its guard.”

Also on the economic docket, the Commerce Department said U.S. housing starts increased 4.5% in December to 1.64 million annualized units. Economists expected housing starts to decline slightly. Building permits were 5.5% higher for the month.

Additionally, the Philadelphia Fed said its manufacturing index rose to a reading of 8.3 in January, compared to negative 2.3 in December. The government also said initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell by 8,000 to 290,000 for the week ended Jan. 12. Economists were predicting a rise to 315,000 claims.

On top of all the data, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was speaking on Capitol Hill. Though his prepared testimony featured no remarks on monetary policy, he did warn that budget deficits could prevent the U.S. from solving its economic problems.

Treasuries were holding steady, with the benchmark 10-year note up 3/32 in price to yield 4.77%. The dollar was rising against the euro and the yen.

The U.S. market is coming off a session in which tech stocks were hit by a selloff in Intel (INTC) . Blue chips also slipped, but not nearly as dramatically as the technology sector. The same pattern was being repeated as the new day continued.

One of the biggest drags was Apple (AAPL) . After the previous close, the company posted blowout numbers for the most recent quarter but offered conservative guidance. Shares of the computer and iPod maker were down about 4.6%, despite numerous price target upgrades.

As for other earnings, Merrill Lynch (MER) was off 0.2% even after the broker reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.35 billion, or $2.41 a share, a surge of 68% from the same quarter a year ago. Results handily beat the Thomson First Call consensus.

Merrill also said it will raise its quarterly dividend 40% to 35 cents a share. The stock was lower by 15 cents at $96.66.

The Bank of New York (BK) reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations by 3 cents. Revenue came in at $1.89 billion, also ahead of forecasts. The Bank of New York was gaining 75 cents, or 1.9%, to $41.

Meanwhile, Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) saw fourth-quarter earnings drop 80% from a year ago but still trumped the average estimate. Shares were adding 1.3% to $40.15.

Harley-Davidson (HOG) , Knight Capital (NITE) and Continental Airlines also topped analysts’ expectations.

Among those missing expectations was drug giant Novartis (NVS) , and its shares were edging lower by $1.37, or 2.3%, to $58.16.

Away from stocks, oil prices resumed their slide following the Energy Department’s weekly inventory report. Crude, which halted its recent decline on Wednesday by surging above $52 a barrel, was lately down $1.92 at $50.32. Most other commodities were lower.

The report showed that crude inventories unexpectedly rose by 6.8 million barrels last week. Distillate supplies rose by 900,000 barrels, and gasoline stocks climbed by 3.5 million barrels.

Precious metals were losing ground in a choppy session. Gold was falling $4.10 at $629.20 an ounce, and silver was off 19 cents to $12.70 an ounce.

Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.6% to 17,371, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was higher by 1.1% to 20,277. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 6210. Germany’s Xetra DAX dipped by 0.2% to 6689.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 at 10:32 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Updated from 12:37 p.m. EST

Wall Street was stumbling Thursday as tech stocks deteriorated amid a selloff in Apple (AAPL) and a flood of economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by a point at 12,576, and the S&P 500 was giving back 2 points, or 0.1%, at 1429. The Nasdaq Composite, however, was lower by 26 points, or 1.1%, at 2453.

The moves came after the release of the Labor Department’s consumer price index for December. The index was up 0.5%, compared with expectations for an increase of 0.4%. The so-called core index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2%, matching estimates.

Core inflation, a closely monitored figure, is now up 2.6% over the past year. The data follow by a day the latest reading of the producer price index, which rose 0.9% last month, a greater-than-expected increase. The core PPI was up 0.2%, also ahead of forecasts. The PPI report measures inflation at the wholesale level.

The CPI is considered the more important of the two when it comes to influencing Federal Reserve decisions on interest rates, but both are factored in to the central bank’s planning.

Peter Morici, professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission, said that there will likely be no change in Fed interest rate policy following the CPI number.

In an emailed statement, he said that “more favorable news on core inflation will be needed for the Federal Reserve to lower its guard.”

Also on the economic docket, the Commerce Department said U.S. housing starts increased 4.5% in December to 1.64 million annualized units. Economists expected housing starts to decline slightly. Building permits were 5.5% higher for the month.

Additionally, the Philadelphia Fed said its manufacturing index rose to a reading of 8.3 in January, compared to negative 2.3 in December. The government also said initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell by 8,000 to 290,000 for the week ended Jan. 12. Economists were predicting a rise to 315,000 claims.

On top of all the data, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was speaking on Capitol Hill. Though his prepared testimony featured no remarks on monetary policy, he did warn that budget deficits could prevent the U.S. from solving its economic problems.

Treasuries were holding steady, with the benchmark 10-year note up 3/32 in price to yield 4.77%. The dollar was rising against the euro and the yen.

The U.S. market is coming off a session in which tech stocks were hit by a selloff in Intel (INTC) . Blue chips also slipped, but not nearly as dramatically as the technology sector. The same pattern was being repeated as the new day continued.

One of the biggest drags was Apple (AAPL) . After the previous close, the company posted blowout numbers for the most recent quarter but offered conservative guidance. Shares of the computer and iPod maker were down about 4.6%, despite numerous price target upgrades.

As for other earnings, Merrill Lynch (MER) was off 0.2% even after the broker reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.35 billion, or $2.41 a share, a surge of 68% from the same quarter a year ago. Results handily beat the Thomson First Call consensus.

Merrill also said it will raise its quarterly dividend 40% to 35 cents a share. The stock was lower by 15 cents at $96.66.

The Bank of New York (BK) reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations by 3 cents. Revenue came in at $1.89 billion, also ahead of forecasts. The Bank of New York was gaining 75 cents, or 1.9%, to $41.

Meanwhile, Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) saw fourth-quarter earnings drop 80% from a year ago but still trumped the average estimate. Shares were adding 1.3% to $40.15.

Harley-Davidson (HOG) , Knight Capital (NITE) and Continental Airlines also topped analysts’ expectations.

Among those missing expectations was drug giant Novartis (NVS) , and its shares were edging lower by $1.37, or 2.3%, to $58.16.

Away from stocks, oil prices resumed their slide following the Energy Department’s weekly inventory report. Crude, which halted its recent decline on Wednesday by surging above $52 a barrel, was lately down $1.92 at $50.32. Most other commodities were lower.

The report showed that crude inventories unexpectedly rose by 6.8 million barrels last week. Distillate supplies rose by 900,000 barrels, and gasoline stocks climbed by 3.5 million barrels.

Precious metals were losing ground in a choppy session. Gold was falling $4.10 at $629.20 an ounce, and silver was off 19 cents to $12.70 an ounce.

Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.6% to 17,371, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was higher by 1.1% to 20,277. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 6210. Germany’s Xetra DAX dipped by 0.2% to 6689.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 6th, 2007 at 1:50 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Apple (AAPL) is sandbagging, Jim Cramer said Thursday on CNBC’s “Stop Trading!” segment.

Cramer said that, given the computer giant’s red-hot earnings report late Wednesday, the company’s below-consensus guidance is downright “insulting.” He said Apple’s obvious effort to talk down expectations shows once more that “press releases, unlike hips, do lie.”

Other than Apple, down $5 at $90, Cramer would generally shun tech, saying the season for buying technology stocks starts in August and runs through early January, with the annual Goldman Sachs technology conference.

Cramer wouldn’t buy PPG (PPG) , down 2% at $66.50, saying the U.S. economy is “not that strong” and the Pittsburgh-based industrial giant is “not out of the woods.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 20th, 2007 at 12:40 am and is filed under Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.