Stocks have opened higher in trading today as worries about the euro zone debt crisis eased a little after Spain completed a successful bond auction and Italian borrowing costs fell.
The Dow Jones opened higher at 12,449.91, the S&P 500 opened flat at 1,292.48, and the Nasdaq opened higher at 2,716.87.
The positive developments in the euro zone, however, have been slightly overshadowed by some weak economic data in the U.S. Earlier today; a report showed that sales at U.S. retailers rose less than forecast in the month of December. According to figures released by the Commerce Department, retail sales rose 0.1% in the month of December, following a gain of 0.4% in November. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting retail sales to rise 0.3% in the month of December.
A separate report released by the Labor Department today showed that the number of people applying for weekly unemployment benefits rose last week as companies let go of thousands of workers after the holiday season. According to the figures released by the Labor Department, initial jobless claims rose 24,000 to 399,000 for the last week. Economists were expecting jobless claims to rise to 375,000.
Among the major gainers and losers at the start of trading today are Infosys Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ: INFY), which is currently trading 8.83% lower at $51.85, Walter Energy Inc. (NYSE: WLT), which is currently trading 0.42% higher at $61.94, ReneSola Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE: SOL), which is currently trading 7.11% lower at $2.09, Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL), which is currently trading 2.60% higher at $4.73, Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE: STP), which is currently trading 6.75% lower at $3.04, Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), which is currently trading 1.19% lower at $18.34, and Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX), which is currently trading 2.18% lower at $105.42.
More Posts by this author
- Stocks Struggle for Direction
- Gold and Silver Prices Ease
- Stocks Remain Lower in Mid-Day Trading
- ANADIGICS – We are acutely focused on execution in 2012
- 2011 was an incredibly successful year for Windstream
- Government Properties – Results for the quarter and year ended December 31
- Gilat Satellite Networks – Strong financial performance in the fourth quarter
 |
Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.
|
