U.S. Stocks Struggle with Weekly Losses, Oil in 5-Day Rally

Nichole Harper
26 Mar, 2015
New York City

A mild rebound in tech stocks failed to lift the broader indexes and oil rally extended to fifth session in a row. S&P 500 index is down more than 2% in the week so far and the Nasdaq is down 3%, the largest weekly loss since October.

[R]2:20 PM New York – A mild rebound in tech stocks failed to lift the broader indexes and oil rally extended to fifth session in a row. S&P 500 index is down more than 2% in the week so far and the Nasdaq is down 3%, the largest weekly loss since October.[/R]

Stocks in New York see-sawed and a mild rebound in tech stocks failed to lift the Nasdaq index.

Transportation stocks were on the decline after oil price rallied for the fifth day in a row and Saudi Arabia led airstrike to targets in Yemen.

Seasonally adjusted weekly jobless claims declined 9,000 to 282,000 from the previous week unrevised claims of 291,000, the Department of Labor said today.

On Wall Street trading, Tollbooth Strategy Index rose 0.09% or 9.03 to 10,419.58.

S&P 500 index edged up 0.26 or 0.01% to 2,061.35 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 9.10 or 0.2% to 4,867.11.

Crude oil gained $1.07 to $50.28 a barrel and gold climbed $7.80 to $1,204.80 an ounce.

U.S. Movers

Lululemon Athletica Inc ((LULU)) climbed 6.7% or $4.06 to $64.99 after the yoga and athletic apparel retailer said net revenues in the fourth-quarter ending on February 1 soared 16% to $602.5 million from a year ago period.

Comparable store sales in the quarter jumped 5% and total comparable store sales and direct to consumer climbed 8%.

Net income in the quarter rose 1.1% to $110.9 million or 78 cents per diluted share compared to $109.7 million or 75 cents from the same quarter last year.

For the fiscal first quarter, the company forecasted net revenue to be in the range of $413 million to $418 million and total comparable sales increase in the low single digits and diluted earnings per share are estimated between 31 cents and 33 cents.

For the year, net revenues forecasted between $1.97 billion and $2.02 billion and diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.85 to $1.90.

European Markets

In London trading, FTSE 100 index declined 1.3% or 89.33 to 6,901.64 and in Frankfurt the DAX index dropped 1.3% or 158.16 to 11,707.16.

In Paris, CAC 40 index slumped 1.3% or 64.52 to 4,956.47.

Deutsche Postbank AG slid 0.1% to €35.70 after the Germany-based financial services provider said revenues in the year ending in December declined 8.3% to €4.73 billion from €5.16 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the year plunged 15.8% from a year ago to €278 million compared to €330 million and diluted earnings per share jumped to €0.67 from €0.17.

SolarWorld AG plunged 4.7% to €13.15 after the Germany-based crystalline solar power services provider stated revenues in the year ending in December surged 25.8% to €573.4 million from €455.8 million in a year ago period.

Net in the year swung to profit to €464.2 million compared to a loss of €228.3 million in the year ago period and diluted earnings per share swung to a €36.28 from loss per share of €309.09.

The company forecasted consolidated revenues for the fiscal 2015 to climb 25% to €700 million.

Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG slid 0.09% to €5.37 after the Germany-based communication services provider stated revenues in the year ending in December soared 12.4% to €5.52 billion from €4.91 billion in a year ago period.

Net in the year swung to a loss from a year ago to €721 million compared to profit of €78 million and diluted net per share swung to a loss of €0.45 from earnings per share of €0.7.

Asian Markets

Nikkei index in Tokyo closed lower following an Asia-wide sell-off sparked by more than 1% decline in New York. Ichibanya Co said third-quarter earnings surged 39% on 6% increase in revenues. Mitsubishi Motors plans to invest $500 million in Indonesia.

Stocks in Tokyo closed lower following the market sell-off in New York. The yen held firm.

Market sentiment was weak and indexes across Asia declined after the latest durable goods orders report showed a decline in the U.S. in February.

The decline in orders surprised economists and investors worried that the rising dollar may impact profit margins at large companies in the S&P 500 index. Nearly 50% of earnings are originating outside the U.S. for the companies in the index.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 275.08 or 1.4% to 19,471.12 and the broader Topix index slumped 23.19 to 1,568.82.

The yen closed at 119.55 against a dollar.

Stocks in Mumbai fell sharply following the weak market closure in New York and growing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

On Wall Street, S&P 500 index dropped 1.5%, the tech heavy Nasdaq lost 2.4% and the narrow index Dow Jones declined 1.6%.

Market sentiment was weak at the opening and indexes quickly dropped more than 1% after latest durable goods orders in the U.S. showed a decline prompting economic health worries.

In addition, market mood soured after Saudi Arabia launched air strike against the rebels in Yemen as a group of fighters strengthen hold on the southern city of Aden.

Markets across Asia declined between 0.8% and 1.4% and oil prices advanced on the growing tensions in the Middle East.

Rupee eased 37 paisa 62.70 against one dollar.

The Sensex Index declined 654.25 or 2.3% to close at 27,457.58. The CNX Nifty slipped 188.65 or 2.2% to 8,342.15.

Separately, the power ministry announced the finalization of a plan to import natural gas for the electric power generation and provide a direct financial subsidy to distribution companies.

The government has been focused on speeding up the sourcing of domestic coal and natural gas from international markets and increase electricity supply in many states including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Amtek Auto Limited jumped 6.2% to ₹141.95 after Bloomberg reported that the company is in talks to acquire U.S.-based TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.’s suspension unit for $500 million.

Tata Motors Limited decreased 2.8% to ₹526.15 after the largest automaker plans to invest £600 million to expand in the U.K.-based Jaguar Land Rover.