U.S. Stocks Mixed As Investors Weigh Data Against Profits
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Tuesday reverted to mixed action, with investors weighing agriculture giant's Monsanto Co.'s double-digit gains and improved profit forecast against downbeat data on housing and consumer sentiment.
"The recent credit crisis has led to much broader and larger structural issues that will now confront the economy, thereby making future economic data the primary focus," said Tom DiGaloma, head of U.S. Treasury trading at Jefferies & Co.
Off almost 100 points earlier on, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was more recently down 22.47 points, or 0.2%, to 12,525.28, with 21 of its 30 components trading lower.
Blue-chip declines were recently led by Bank of America Corp. , down 3.3%, and Home Depot Inc. , down 2%.
Dow gains were fronted by American Express Co. , up 1.3%.
Off the Dow, shares of Monsanto were up 9% after the St. Louis company lifted its projected earnings for 2008. .
And, technology stocks were among those showing some signs of life, with Yahoo Inc. shares gaining 2.9% after Citigroup Inc. hiked its rating on the stock. .
The S&P 500 gained 1.93 points, or 0.1%, to 1,351.81, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 5.46 points, or 0.2%, to 2,332.21.
Alternately up and down in the starting moments after the opening bell, the major stock indexes had extended early losses after the Conference Board reported U.S. consumers' confidence fell in March. .
Ahead of the opening bell, the latest Case-Shiller data compiled by Standard & Poor's showed U.S. home prices fell 10.7% in the past year. .
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil futures fell 26 cents to $100.60 a barrel.
Gold futures rallied as weakness in the U.S. dollar boosted demand for the precious metal, with the contract for April delivery recently rising $15.70 to $934.40 an ounce on Nymex. .
The dollar bumped lower, with an index measuring the U.S. currency against a basket of major counterparts at 72.19 off from 72.340 earlier Tuesday. .
U.S. stocks rallied on Monday, furthering the prior session's strong gains, after J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. increased its offer for Bear Stearns Cos. and after the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes rose for the first time in seven months.
Overseas, international stocks jumped on the Wall Street advance. The FTSE 100 rose more than 3% in London and overnight, the Hang Seng benchmark surged nearly 7% in Hong Kong.
By Kate Gibson