Transportation Stocks Lead Decliners

123jump.com Staff
01 Jul, 2008
New York City

U.S. stocks declined sharply by the early afternoon as crude oil hovered near record level and talks of a military strike against Iran dampened the moood. Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped 1%. Transportation stocks declined, led by a sharp fall in AMR Corp, UAL and Delta Airlines. UPS and FedEx declined 3% on a rise in crude oil prices.

[R]12:30 PM New York – U.S. stocks declined as transportations stocks declined as crude oil hovered near record level.[/R]

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 127.73 to 11,226.28 and S&P 500 declined 14.54 or 1.1% to 1,266.46. Transportation, auto makers and financials led the decliners.

Dow Gainers and Losers

Of the 30 stocks in Dow Jones Industrial Average 9 stocks gained, 20 declined and 1 remained unchanged.

Alcoa Inc led the decliners in the Dow Jones Industrial Average with a loss of 3.79% or $1.35, to $34.27 followed by losses in General Motors of 3.67% or $0.42, to $11.08, in Home Depot Inc of 2.31% or $0.54, to $22.88, in Walt Disney Company of 1.92% or $0.60, to $30.60 and in United Tech Corp of 1.78% or $1.10, to $60.60.

Merck & Co led the gainers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index with a rise of 2.73% or $1.01, to $37.99 followed by increases in Verizon Communication of 2.71% or $0.93, to $35.21, in Alcoa Inc of 2.09% or $0.74, to $36.12, in Pfizer Inc of 1.85% or $0.32 to $17.60 and in General Electric of 1.59% or $0.42 to $26.68.

Stock Movers

Constellation Brands ((STZ)) rose $1.13 to $20.99 after it released earnings that beat expectations. Constellation Brands, Inc, the alcohol beverage distributor reported first quarter sales increased 2.47% to $1.21 billion from $1.18 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter increased 33.18% to $44.6 million or 19 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $29.8 million or 12 cents per share, a year ago.

American Express ((AXP)) rose 18 cents to $37.83after UBS raised rating to ‘neutral’ from ‘sell.’ Legg Mason ((LM)) dropped $3.75 to $39.81 after it continues to struggle with losses at money market funds. The McClatchy Company ((MNI)) fell 50 cents to $6.29 after Deutsche Bank lowered its rating to ‘sell’ from ‘hold.’

S&P Movers

Of the stocks in S&P 500 index, 65 increased 432 declined and 3 remained unchanged.

Fortune Brands led the decliners in the S&P 500 index with a loss of 7.50% or $4.68, to $57.73 followed by in losses in Legg Mason Inc of 5.74% or $2.50, to $41.07, in Terex Corp of 5.31% or $2.73, to $48.64, in Lennar Corp of 5.01% or $0.62, to $11.72 and in T Rowe Price of 5.01% or $2.83, to $53.64.

CIT Group Inc led the gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 14.39% or $0.98, to $7.79 followed by increases in Constellation of 3.73% or $0.74, to $20.60, in Sherwin-William of 3.18% or $1.46, to $47.39, in Celgene Corp of 2.96% or $1.89 to $65.76 and in Newmont Mining of 2.45% or $1.28 to $53.44.