Stock open mixed after four days of declines
First Posted:
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks opened mixed Tuesday on disappointing news about the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 54 points to 12,875 in the first half-hour of trading. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 fell four points to 1,378. The Nasdaq slipped two points 3,045.
A slew of disappointing data about the U.S. economy and strikes in Greece were stark reminders that the economy is far from healed.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses said its index of small-business optimism fell in March after six months of gains, largely on worries about rising gas prices. That caused concerns that those companies might not generate as many jobs as had been hoped for. U.S. wholesale businesses also reported that they restocked their shelves at a slower pace at the beginning of the year.
The price of crude oil fell slightly, to less than $102 per barrel, but that’s not necessarily a good sign. Traders are betting that the weak economy will keep demand for oil low. And the incremental decline is only a small relief for businesses and consumers struggling with high energy prices. Oil is still far above the $75 it was trading at in October.
There are also reasons to believe oil could be headed higher again after Iran declared that it would no longer ship crude to Greece. Iran has already cut off France and Britain. The hostility is related to Iran’s nuclear program, which other countries want Iran to halt. New talks are scheduled to begin Saturday.
It’s been a rough few days for the stock market. The S&P and the Dow have fallen for four days in a row, only the second time this year that that’s happened. The losses started last week after the Federal Reserve indicated that it won’t continue buying bonds to pump money into the economy. The losing streak continued after the government reported last Friday that job growth slowed in March to half the pace of the previous three months.
If the market closes down again Tuesday it will be the longest losing streak of the year.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke again Monday night but didn’t give investors much to hang on to. Bernanke steered clear of talking about the economy and instead focused on regulatory policy.
In Europe, Greece’s main stock index shot up nearly 3 percent even as most other markets fell. The gains in the volatile country came despite a worker strike that shut off ferry service and underscored how difficult it will be for the government to enforce spending cuts it needs to make to dig itself out of debt.
Indexes in France, Germany and Spain fell. Spain reported that it has been forced to pay more to attract investors to its government bonds, a sign that investors are increasingly wary about the financial health of the Spanish government.
The first-quarter earnings season starts after the market closes Tuesday, when aluminum producer Alcoa reports its results. Analysts are expecting a loss, partly because of a slowdown in China’s growth and a economic weakness in Europe.
