U.S. equities fell on Monday with the Dow losing 136 points as a lack of progress towards resolving the government shutdown and continued worries surrounding the debt ceiling weigh on sentiment. Discretionary, Financials, and Materials led stocks on the S&P 500 lower, with Telecom as the only major sector in the black. The dollar fell, hovering near an eight-month low against a basket of major trading currencies. Crude oil also slipped, while gold and silver rallied.
The CBOE Volatility index known as the “VIX”, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, jumped nearly 16% percent to 19.40, its highest since late June.
Market Indices/Statistics:
- Dow closed down 136.34 pts/ -0.90% to 14,936.24; 27 of the 30 Dow stocks closed lower.
- S&P closed down 14.38 pts/ -0.85% to 1,676.12; 9 of the 10 S&P 500 sectors closed lower.
- Nasdaq closed down 37.37 pts/ -0.98% to 3,770.38
- Discretionary was the weakest sector (-1.40%), Telecomm was the strongest (+0.62%).
- The VIX is up 2.64 to 19.40
- Gold is up 12.5 at 1,322.6
- Oil is down 0.79 to 103.05
- Nat Gas is up 0.129 to 3.635
- Euro vs. Dollar is up 0.0006 to $1.3577
- Yen vs. Dollar is down 0.72 to 96.74
Top Headlines:
Shares of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (CTB) sank 12.84% to $25.72 as India’s Apollo Tyres, who in June agreed to buy Cooper for about $2.5 billion, is seeking to reduce the price it would pay to buy Cooper by more than $2.50 per share, citing significant costs they may face that were well beyond those it anticipated under the initial merger agreement. Cooper said in a statement earlier today it does not agree that a reduction in shares price is warranted, and is acting in the best interests of its stockholders, who overwhelmingly approved the pending merger with Apollo for $35 per share.
Fifth & Pacific Co.’s Inc. (FNP, $25.71) rose 4.77% on Monday after agreed to sell its once-popular Juicy Couture business to Authentic Brands Group for $195 million. Fifth & Pacific intends to focus on the company’s other fast-growing, higher-end brands such as Kate Spade.
No. 1 U.S. government contractor Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT, $123.56), said on Monday it scaled back the number of its workers facing furloughs after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recalled most civilian defense employees. Lockheed said about 2,400 of its workers would still be unable to return to work as a result of the U.S. government shutdown. The company had originally announced on Friday that it would furlough about 3,000 workers.
Coming Tuesday
U.S. Economic Reports:
NFIB Small Business Index (Sept) at 7:30am, consensus 93.5, prior 94.0
ICSC-Goldman Chain Store Sales (Weekly) at 7:45am, prior (1.0%)
International Trade (Aug) at 8:30am, consensus ($39.7B), prior ($39.1B)
Redbook Chain Store Sales (Weekly) at 8:55am, prior (0.4%)
Earnings Tuesday:
Alcoa Inc. (AA) Est. 0.06c; Met-Pro (MPR) Est. 0.15c ; Rocky Mountain Chocolate (RMCF) Est. 0.15c ; Wolverine World Wide (WWW) Est. $1.02; Mistras Group (MG) Est. 0.11c; YUM! Brands (YUM) Est. 0.93c
Here at the NYSE
At the open:
On Tuesday, October 8, executives and guests of Philadelphia, PA-based RevenueShareswill visit the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to mark the October 1, 2013 launch of the RevenueShares Ultra Dividend Fund (NYSE Arca:RDIV).
To highlight the occasion, Mr. Yulong Wang, Chairman of Suzhou Industrial Park Kaida Venture Capital, joined by members of RevenueShares’ leadership team, will ring the NYSE Opening Bell.
At the close:
On Tuesday, October 8, executives and middle market clientsof New York-based CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) cit.com, a leading provider of financing and advisory services to small businesses and middle market companies, will visit the NYSE.
CIT executives and their middle market clients will ring The Closing Bell in conjunction with the release of the “CIT: Voice of the Middle Market - Perspectives from the Heart of the U.S. Economy” (cit.com/middlemarketoutlook) survey earlier that day. This comprehensive research report examines the perceptions of executives of U.S. middle market companies and provides insights into the opportunities and challenges they face.
Please remember to check in with us every morning for the NYSE Morning Update! http://exchanges.nyx.com/parasnand-madho/nyse-morning-update-05022013
Thanks and have a great evening!
