US Stocks Tumble....
May 5th, 2010 by Lawrence Grasso
Closing Data
| Current | Change | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 10,926.77 | -225.06 | -2.0% |
| NASDAQ | 2,424.25 | -74.49 | -3.0% |
| S P 500 | 1,173.60 | -28.66 | -2.4% |
| FTSE 100 | 5,411.11 | -142.18 | -2.6% |
| Nikkei 225 | 11,057.40 | 132.61 | 1.2% |
| ASX 200 | 4,737.10 | -48.4 | -1.0% |
| COMEX Gold - Dec 09 | 1,169.80 | -13.5 | -1.1% |
| COMEX Silver - Sep 09 | 17.88 | -0.96 | -5.1% |
| COMEX Copper - Sep 09 | 318.1 | -11.25 | -3.4% |
| WTI Spot | 82.14 | -4.05 | -4.7% |
| AUD-USD | 0.9092 | -0.017 | -1.8% |
| Aluminium | 2,130.75 | -94.25 | -4.2% |
| Copper | 6,989.00 | -407.5 | -5.5% |
| Lead | 2,028.50 | -174.25 | -7.9% |
| Nickel | 24,596.00 | -1648 | -6.3% |
| Tin | 17,773.00 | -404.5 | -2.2% |
| Zinc | 2,113.25 | -140 | -6.2% |
U.S. stocks tumbled, with benchmark indexes slumping the most since February, as concern grew that Europe’s government debt crisis will spread beyond Greece. While Greece has been the poster child for fiscal issues, other countries in the Euro zone are still struggling. There is now a risk that Spain, Portugal, Italy or Ireland may face the same kind of headwinds. The sell down spread to stocks like Alcoa Inc. falling 4.3 percent and Exxon Mobil Corp. losing 2 percent to lead raw-materials and energy producers lower as metal and oil prices slumped on a stronger dollar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 225.06 points, or 2 percent, to 10,926.77.
On the local front the Australian market will see a wide spread sell off across all sectors. The SFE 200 futures suggests that the market will open down approximately 102 to 4642. Overnight base metals had one of the biggest falls with copper, lead and zinc coming off between 5%-7%. With commodities soft we will see further selling pressure on the majors (BHP and RIO).
With the XJO breaking the 4700 mark today, we now head back into a previous trading range which saw the market play out from 4500 on the downside- to 4800 on the upside.
Many factors have seen the market recently sell down and for investors it is hard to see the value of your portfolio’s take a hit in such a short period of time, but the important thing is that we don’t panic and close out positions and crystallise losses. It is important to keep a close eye on your positions and speak with your broker to identify potential support levels and a general feel of the market.
WBC - First half report
Westpac Bank has reported on its 1H results and the performance looks fairly good at first glance. Cash profit of $2.98 billion comes in ahead of average forecast of $2.86 billion, of seven analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. That result comes after impairment charges fell 44% on year to $879 million. The bank declared a dividend of 65 cents per share, compared with the 56 cents paid a year earlier, slightly below the average forecast of 66 cents a share. This reflects a much improved Australian economy and good momentum across all businesses.
Contact your Freeman Fox Stockbroker on 07 3031 9960 or 1800 003 369 Ext 7.
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