Afternoon report: U.S. stocks close lower

U.S. stocks closed lower and bond prices rose after as financial shares weighed on the market. JP Morgan Chase & Co. led declines after it stated it may post additional credit losses, as it expects the global economy "to continue to be weak, for capital markets to remain under stress and for a

continued decline in U.S. housing prices."

 


 

Energy shares fell as the price of crude oil declined.

 


 

 The Standard & Poor's 500 index was       down         15.73 .. at  1289.59.

 The Nasdaq composite index was             down          9.34 .. at  2430.61.

 The Transportation Average was               down        121.09 .. at  5076.75.

 And Utilities were                                         down          9.57 .. at   465.48.

 

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was moderate, with 1.1 billion shares traded. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2-to-1 margin.

 

 THE 5 MOST ACTIVE ISSUES ON THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE AS OF 3:10 CT WERE:

 CITIGROUP INC                         DOWN $ 1.28       TO.. $ 18.54

 JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.                  DOWN $ 3.97       TO.. $ 37.92

 WELLS FARGO & CO                      DOWN $ 1.23       TO.. $ 30.38

 BANK OF AMERICA CORP                  DOWN $ 2.25       AT.. $ 31.13

 WACHOVIA CORP.                        DOWN $ 2.21       TO.. $ 16.00

 

 

The 30-year Treasury rose 1 and 1/32, lowering the yield to 4.54%. The 10-

year Treasury rose 23/32, lowering the yield to 3.90%.  The 3-month T-Bill closed at 1.85% and the 6-month T-Bill closed at 2.01%.

 

In commodity markets, Gold fell $13.70 to $814.60 and Silver fell $0.14 to $14.49.  Crude oil prices fell $1.44 to $113.01 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

 

 

LOOKING AT OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

 

TJX Companies, the operator of T.J. Maxx and Marshall Stores, posted higher

quarterly earnings as customers headed to its stores for deals. The company

reported second-quarter earnings of $0.45 a share, compared with $0.13 a

share a year earlier. The company raised its full-year earnings forecast as

it has benefited from shoppers looking for cheaper alternatives. TJX

Companies closed down $0.83 to $36.17. Monsanto Co., the world's biggest seed producer, said fiscal 2009 gross profit will increase 5% in soybean seeds and as much as 30% in corn.  The company stated growth from corn seeds will accelerate this year because of higher demand and prices. Monsanto plans to raise prices as it introduces Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans, the first herbicide resistant seeds.

 

Monsanto closed up $3.60 to $111.48. American Water Works announced second quarter profit fell nearly 8% on higher operating expenses. The New Jersey-based company reported quarterly earnings of $0.28 a share, compared with $0.31 a share for the same time period a year ago. American Water Works closed up $0.10 to $20.87.

 

 

At the close, foreign markets were lower today.

 Canada's S&P/TSX Composite was   down   36.19 to close at 13167.00.

 Mexico's Bolsa index was                     down  307.14 to close at 26636.55.

 Britain's FTSE 100 Index was              down    7.30 to close at  5534.50.

 France's CAC 40 Index was                 down   20.01 to close at  4518.48.

 Germany's DAX Index was                   down   23.76 to close at  6585.87.

 Japan's market was                              down  127.31 to close at 13303.60.

 Hong Kong's market was                     down  218.45 to close at 21640.89.

 

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