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Data and oil rein in Wall Street stocks
Wednesday August 3, 4:40 pm ET
By Jon Boone and Lauren Silva in New York
Wall Street staged a modest retreat for most of the session before closing mixed on Wednesday as crude prices again hit record highs before easing back and some US data came in slightly weaker than expected. The lacklustre performance by equities was in spite of continued merger activity and a surge for Reebok shares after Germany's Adidas agreed to buy the iconic sports company for $3.8bn.The newly formed group would create the world's second biggest sporting goods company, just behind Nike.Reebok's shares soared 30 per cent to $57.14.Nike moved higher, 1.3 per cent to $86.92, on the back of the news.At the close, the Nasdaq was down 0.1 per cent at 2,216.81. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1 per cent at 1,245.03 and 10,697.59, respectively. Stocks were muted by an early surge in oil prices, although the gains evaporated following a surprising rise in US domestic crude inventories. Investors were disappointed by the Institute of Supply Management's non-manufacturing index, which came in slightly below expectations at 60.5 in July versus the expected 61.But analysts said the market's slight fall could have been due more to investors consolidating after gains earlier in the week. "I wouldn't call today a sell-off, just more of a pause," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jeffries & Co. "When the market does well, you look for reasons to take a break."In other corporate news, media conglomerate Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) said its quarterly earnings fell when it posted a $321m loss after reaching a $2.5bn settlement on securities fraud litigation with its shareholders. Shares slipped 0.9 per cent to $17.27.Strong earnings reports from the energy sector continued, with Devon Energy saying profits rose 30 per cent in the second quarter. But stock slipped 0.3 per cent to $57.60.The airline sector lost heavily yesterday, with Delta Airlines dropping to their lowest level for at least 43 years as fears mounted that the struggling carrier was edging closer to bankruptcy.Delta fell 8.3 per cent to $2.32 at the close after hitting a record low on Tuesday as well.Skywest slipped 1.3 per cent to $20.82.Northwest Airlines struggled as the union representing some of its workers walked out of contract negotiations.The stock dropped almost 8.6 per cent to $4.37.The three companies' losses contributed to a 1.5 per cent drop to the Amex airline index which was at 50.83 at the close. Drugstore chain CVS saw its shares fall 1.5 per cent to $30.77 despite the higher-than-expected 18 per cent increase in quarterly profit, driven by higher demand for prescription drugs and general merchandise.Toyota Motor Toyota's New York-listed shares lost 1.0 per cent to $76.17. "While the [US] big three grabbed the headlines [on Tuesday] by offering some of the biggest deals ever, the foreign brands also enjoyed record sales, albeit with much less fanfare," said John Casesa, analyst at Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) in New York.
