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."
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 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. ---------