Dow was down 41, advancers & decliners were about equal & NAZ declined 14. The Labor Dept reported the jobless rate rose to 5.7%, highest in 4 years. July was the 7th straight month of job losses, total jobs lost this year were 463K. Losses were highest in housing & financial services. Manufacturing was flat in July, helped by strong exports. The reading was 50, down a smidgen from June but only at break even (the 50 number) which signals growth. Oil rose 3 to 127. Today's excuse for higher prices was a surprise spike in gasoline futures.
Chevron (CVX), a Dow stock, made $6B in Q2 which had little effect on the stock. EPS of 2.90 came in a little under estimates. General Motors (GM), another Dow stock, had a whopper loss of $15B, 3rd worst in history. Without special charges, GM lost "only" $6B. The stock fell 87¢. Grim!
In the last couple of days, sluggish, at best, GDP growth was reported followed by grim news on the unemployment front. No great surprises, but not the kind of news investors like to hear as deary news from housing, autos & mortgage/credit mess keeps dragging on.
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