S&P 500 Index Set for Third Weekly Loss on Falling Oil and Surging Dollar

Nichole Harper
13 Mar, 2015
New York City

Stocks in New York traded sharply lower and crude oil extended losses after whole price index declined for the fourth month in a row. The sharp increase in dollar in the last two weeks is likely to dampen earnings of the U.S.-based export focused companies.

[R]1:20 PM New York – Stocks in New York traded sharply lower and crude oil extended losses after whole price index declined for the fourth month in a row.[/R]

Market indexes in New York reversed gains of yesterday and stocks extended losses after oil dropped and a decline in wholesale prices.

Wholesale price index fell for the fourth month in a row after food prices eased and margin at retailers and wholesaler also contracted.

Crude oil futures declined 3.7% on the worries that the supply is rising faster than the demand and inventories are growing across the nation at pump stations and storage facilities.

A separate, private report suggested that the consumer confidence index tracked by the University of Michigan declined to 91.2 in March from 95.4 in February.

The Producer Price Index declined 0.5% in February on a seasonally adjusted basis followed by 0.8% decrease in January and 02% in December, the Department of Labor announced.

On Wall Street trading, Tollbooth Strategy Index slipped 0.9% or 95 to 10,511.76.

S&P 500 index fell 17.07 or 0.8% to 2,048.89 and the Nasdaq Composite Index slid 33.18 or 0.7% to 4,860.34.

Crude oil declined $1.01 a barrel to $56.07 and gold gained $1.40 to $1,153.30 an ounce.

U.S. Movers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc ((ULTA)) climbed 3.6% or $5.28 to $150.16 after the beauty products retailer reported net sales in the fourth-quarter ending in January surged 20.7% to $1.05 billion form a year ago period.

Comparable store sales in the quarter soared 11.1%.

Net income in the quarter advanced 23.5% to $87.3 million or $1.35 per diluted share compared to $70.7 million or $1.09 from the same quarter last year.

Vail Resorts, Inc ((MTN)) jumped 2.6% or $2.41 to $95.68 after the ski resort operator stated total net revenues in the second-quarter ending in January climbed 17.1% to $530.2 million form a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter surged 95.3% to $115.8 million or $3.10 per diluted share compared to $59.2 million or $1.60 from the same quarter last year.

European Markets

In London trading, FTSE 100 index fell 0.2% or 13.85 to 6,747.22 and in Frankfurt the DAX index decreased 0.3% or 36.63 to 11,762.76.

In Paris, CAC 40 index slid 0.1% or 5.77 to 4,981.56.

Bechtle AG slid 0.05% to €73.56 after the Germany-based e-commerce trader said total group revenues in the year ending in December soared 13.5% to €2.58 billion from €2.27 billion a year ago period.

Net profit in the year climbed 20.2% from a year ago to €76.2 million compared to €63.4 million and diluted earnings per share jumped to €3.63 from €3.02.

J D Wetherspoon Plc declined 3.9% to 779.50 pence after the U.K.-based pubs and bars operator said revenues in the first-half ending on January 25 climbed 9% to £744.4 million from £683.2 million a year ago period.

Net profit in the period jumped 6.9% from a year ago to £27.8 million compared to £26 million and diluted earnings per share increased to 22.6 pence from 20.7 pence.

Asian Markets

Stocks in Tokyo closed higher and the Nikkei jumped to a high not seen since 2000. Industrial production in January increased 3.7%. Fanuc soared 13% after the industrial robot maker took steps to increase communication with shareholders.

Stocks in Tokyo extended gains for the third day in a row and the Nikkei rose above 19,000 for the first time since April 2000.

Seasonally adjusted industrial output in January jumped 3.7% from 2.8% decline in the same month a year ago, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 263.14 or 1.4% to 19,254.25 and the broader Topix index jumped 13.70 to 1,560.33.

For the week, Nikkei 225 increased 1.5%.

The yen eased and extended losses to 121.44 against a dollar.

Stocks traded volatile in Mumbai after consumer price index in February was ahead of expectations and rupee weakened to 63 against the dollar.

Sensex faced selling pressure after the latest consumer price index in February increased to 5.37% from 5.11% in January, according to statistics office in India.

In a separate report, industrial production index increased more than expected 2.6% in January, trimming the losses in rupee.

Investors also welcomed the passage of insurance industry reform bill in Rajya Sabha, boosting the Modi government’s reform agenda.

Rupee eased 47 paisa to 62.96 against one dollar.

The Sensex Index dropped 427.11 or 1.5% to close at 28,503.30. The CNX Nifty slipped 128.25 or 1.5% to 8,647.75.

For the week, Sensex Index and CNX Nifty declined 3.1%, the largest weekly loss in 2015.

DLF Limited climbed 5.7% to ₹157.50 after the real estate developer said U.S.-based Blackstone Group plans to buy 40% stake in the company’s district-Cybercity in Gurgaon.

Snapdeal, the online retailer plans to buy, Freecharge, online mobile recharge platform, for ₹2,800 crore or $450 million.