US Market posts slight losses

Indices register little losses after a couple of pharmaceutical companies come under scanner

US market registered little losses today, Monday, 21 July, 2008 after crude prices climbed up again and Banc of America announced a substantial drop in its profits but however topping Wall Street’s estimates. Two pharmaceutical companies postponing their earning report till market closes also took a bit of toll on the market sentiment. Seven out of ten sectors ended in the red today led by consumer discretionary. Energy sector was one of the top gainers.

After a modest climb, The Dow Jones industrial Average ended the day with a loss of 29.23 points at 11,467.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished lower by 3.25 points at 2,279.53. S&P 500 finished lower by 0.68 points at 1,260.

Twenty-one out of thirty Dow stocks ended in the red today led by Merck and American Express.

On the economic front, June leading indicators fell 0.1%, which was in-line with expectations. The report had a limited impact on the stock market.

Bank of America reported a 43% drop in earnings per share to $0.72. However, the result easily topped Wall Street's forecast due to a lower-than-expected write-down of $1.2 billion. The stock closed higher by 4%.

Merck along with Schering-Plough delayed releasing their second-quarter earnings until after the market's close as Norwegian researchers said the study found a cholesterol drug, Vytorin, marketed by the two companies to be ineffective in curtailing a cardiac condition.

The healthcare sector recently took a sharp slip into negative ground after momentarily spiking upward into the green. The drop coincides with negative news related to two marquee names in the pharmaceutical industry.

Barring HDFC Bank, Rediff.com and Patni Computers, all other Indian ADRs ended in the red today. Rediff.com was the largest gainer with the ADR soaring more than 4%.

Crude oil prices rose for the first time in five sessions today. Price spurred up as a tropical storm, Dolly, entered the Gulf of Mexico, and Iran, the world's fourth-biggest producer, resisted demands to suspend nuclear research. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for August delivery closed at $131.04 /barrel (higher by $2.16/barrel or 1.7%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the first increase in five days.

A hurricane watch was issued for the Texas coastline from Brownsville to Port O'Connor at morning time today by the Miami-based hurricane center. Dolly moved over the Yucatan Peninsula earlier today. Petroleos Mexicanos, Mexico's state oil company, produces about 1.07 million barrels of oil a day in the Bay of Campeche, which is south of the projected track of the storm. The northern Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 25% of U.S. oil production.

Trading was relatively light, with volume on the New York Stock Exchange passing 1.2 billion, and advancing stocks outran those declining nearly 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, more than 753 million shares traded, and advancers beat decliners 5 to 4.

For tomorrow, Wachovia Bank, UPS, United Health, Caterpillar and DuPont are some of the more widely-held companies scheduled to announce their latest quarterly results Tuesday morning. There is no market moving economic data due tomorrow. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is scheduled to speak about the U.S. economy and markets before the opening bell.