Stock Market Watch

Stocks End Lower as Euro Zone Worries Weigh Down Sentiment

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Stocks ended lower in trading today as worries about the debt crisis in the euro zone continued to weigh down investors’ sentiment. The formation of a new technocratic government in Italy and Greece was expected to bring some relief to the market. However, an Italian bond auction held earlier today was a stark reminder about the huge task that lies ahead of the country’s new government.

Italy today auctioned 5-year bonds. Although the auction generated decent demand, the country had to pay very high yields. Meanwhile, data released in the euro zone earlier today pointed to a recession in the region.


As investors remained focus on the euro zone, all three major indexes ended sharply lower. The Dow Jones ended the day 0.61% lower at 12,078.98, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.96% lower at 1,251.78, and the Nasdaq ended the day 0.80% lower at 2,657.22.

All sectors in the S&P 500 ended sharply lower today. Financials were the worst performers in the S&P 500, ending the day 1.48% lower. Basic Materials and Conglomerates also fell sharply today. Basic Materials stocks ended the day 1.26% lower, while Conglomerates ended the day 1.24% lower.

Among the major gainers and losers in trading today were Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW), which ended the day 1.69% higher at $23.50, J.C. Penney Company Inc. (NYSE: JCP), which ended the day 2.77% lower at $32.98, Cray Inc. (NASDAQ: CRAY), which ended the day 8.65% higher at $6.03, Aastrom Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTM), which ended the day 6.18% lower at $2.58, Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE: BXG), which ended the day 46.08% higher at $2.98, Ctrip.com International Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ: CTRP), which ended the day 12.26% lower at $30.07, and VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY), which ended the day 8.95% higher at $44.44.

 

edliston
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.


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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.

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