{"id":416416,"date":"2011-05-03T15:06:13","date_gmt":"2011-05-03T15:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/03\/stocks-waver-as-investors-step-back\/"},"modified":"2011-05-03T15:06:13","modified_gmt":"2011-05-03T15:06:13","slug":"stocks-waver-as-investors-step-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/03\/stocks-waver-as-investors-step-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Stocks waver as investors step back"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"U.S.<\/a>Click the chart for more market data.<\/strong><\/span> By Ken Sweet, contributing writer<\/span>May 3, 2011: 11:05 AM ET<\/span><\/p>\n

NEW YORK\u00a0(CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks were down slightly on Tuesday, as investors focused on the economy and corporate earnings.<\/p>\n

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU<\/a>) fell 10 points, or 0.1%; the S&P 500 (SPX<\/a>) edged lower by 6 points, or 0.4%; and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP<\/a>) shed 20 points, or 0.7%.<\/p>\n

The biggest drag on blue chips was the drugmaker Pfizer (PFE<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>), which reported earnings per share that beat by a penny. The drugmaker reaffirmed its outlook, but investors were hoping for more. Shares fell 2% during Tuesday’s session.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was weighed down by shares of Sears Holdings (SHLD<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>). The company’s stock fell more than 9% after it issued a disappointing outlook late Monday. Also lower on the Nasdaq were semiconductor makers Nvidia (NVDA<\/a>) and Micron Technologies (MU<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>), both down 4%.<\/p>\n

On Monday, U.S. stocks finished slightly lower<\/a>, as investors reversed from their initial positive reaction to news that Osama bin Laden had been killed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Traders and investors said it will take more to sustain a longer rally.<\/p>\n

“Fundamentally, not much as has changed,” said Zahid Siddique, Associate Portfolio Manager of Gabelli Equity Trust. “We still have all the macro issues, whether it is the Middle East, Europe, Japan.”<\/p>\n

Monday’s losses ended a five-day winning streak for the S&P 500 and Dow.<\/p>\n

April was the strongest month for stocks since December. In fact, stocks have been steadily marching higher since the start of the year. But risks still remain: the economy is far from out of the woods, and, while earnings have been strong, investors remain nervous about whether companies can sustain their growth.<\/p>\n

The government’s main jobs report for April is due out Friday, and investors will be paying close attention. Jobs remain one of the biggest — if not the biggest — drivers of the economic recovery. “It will be better but not that much higher to really move the needle,” Siddique said.<\/p>\n

According to a CNNMoney survey, economists expect 185,000 jobs to have been added in April.<\/p>\n

Investors need to see a positive trend in the labor market, and they haven’t seen that yet.<\/p>\n

As the economic recovery in the U.S. battles consistently high unemployment and slowing growth, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has maintained his position that interest rates will remain low for the foreseeable future — despite growing concerns of inflation.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, emerging markets are showing concern about inflation: India announced that it raised its key lending rate to 7.25% from 6.75%.<\/p>\n

“Inflation is a real problem in emerging markets, and it’s slowly becoming a big issue in places like Europe,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist with Avalon Partners.<\/p>\n

Economy:<\/strong><\/a> The Commerce Department reported factory orders rose 3% in March, which was better than the 2.5% rise economists had forecast.<\/p>\n

Investors will also get monthly auto sales figures from the major car makers starting around 11 a.m. ET.<\/p>\n

Companies<\/strong><\/a>: Credit card processor MasterCard (MA<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>) reported earnings per share share of $4.29, up 24% from the same time a year ago. The company cited an 11.1% increase in transactions as the reason for the first-quarter bump. Shares rose 3.5%.<\/p>\n

Media company CBS (CBS<\/a>, Fortune 500<\/a>) will issue its quarterly report after the closing bell.<\/p>\n

World markets:<\/strong><\/a> European stocks were lower in afternoon trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1%, the DAX in Germany fell 0.6% and France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.4%.<\/p>\n

Asian markets also ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.7%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dipped 0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei was closed for holiday.<\/p>\n

Currencies<\/strong><\/a> and commodities:<\/a><\/strong> The dollar rallied against the euro and the British pound, but slipped against the Japanese yen.<\/p>\n

Oil for June delivery fell $1.37 to $112.15 a barrel.<\/p>\n

Gold futures for June delivery dropped $19.60 to $1537.80 an ounce.<\/p>\n

Silver futures for May delivery were slid 6% to $43.44 an ounce.<\/p>\n

Bonds<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong> Bond prices were up slightly. The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged higher, pushing the yield down to 3.26% from 3.29% late Monday. \u00a0\"To<\/a><\/p>\n

First Published: May 3, 2011: 9:45 AM ET<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

More:
\nStocks waver as investors step back<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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