Trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange
| credits: telegraph.co.uk
United States stocks fluctuated between gains and losses, after yesterday’s advance, as investors watched for developments on budget talks and European Central Bank President, Mr. Mario Draghi said weak activity is expected to continue.
Reuters reported that Apple Incorporated jumped by 1.3 per cent, reversing an earlier loss. Akamai Technologies Incorporated increased 9.5 per cent after agreeing to sell services with AT&T Incorporated.
H&R Block Incorporated, the biggest US tax preparer, advanced by 4.8 per cent after reporting a loss that was smaller than analysts estimated.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Incorporated, the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer, and MetLife Incorporated, the biggest US life insurer, declined at least 1.3 per cent following analysts’ rating cuts.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose by 0.2 per cent to 1,412.37 at 2:29 p.m. New York time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 17.58 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 13,052.07.
Trading in S&P 500 companies was 3.9 per cent below the 30-day average at this time of day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“We’re in a no man’s land here,” the president of New York-based hedge fund Platinum Partners, which manages $1.15bn, Mr. Uri Landesman, said. “The market has been looking for some direction.
“It’s really the fiscal cliff that’s going to drive things here. Europe is an enormous question. If Europe continues in its doldrums, there are all kinds of implications. People were hoping that Draghi could be a bit more optimistic.”
A few dozen Republicans joined a bipartisan push to break an impasse between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner over taxes for the highest-earning Americans, signing a letter calling for openness to “all options.”
Fewer Americans than projected filed applications for unemployment benefits last week as disruptions caused by superstorm Sandy waned.
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US stocks fluctuate on budget talks