Dow to End 2005 Down

Elena
30 Dec, 2005
New York City

U.S. stocks slipped on the last trading day of 2005. With no S&P 500 companies scheduled to report earnings and no major economic reports due out on Friday, volume was very light. The Dow industrial average threatened to close the year down for the first time since 2002 as investors sold off some of the best performers of 2005, including Apple Computer Inc. For the year, Apple rose 129% on the Nasdaq, while Hewlett-Packard advanced 36% on the Nymex.

U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

U.S. stocks slipped on the last trading day of the year with the Dow industrial average likely to end the year lower as investors sold off some of the year''s best performers, including Apple Computer Inc. Apple''s shares fell 1.4% on the Nasdaq, while Dow component Hewlett-Packard Co. slipped nearly 1% on the Nymex. For the year, Apple''s shares are up 129% on the Nasdaq, while Hewlett-Packard is up 36% on the Nymex.

Ahead of a 3-day New Year''s weekend, there are no major economic reports due out on Friday.

Among the companies in focus today, Citigroup Inc. slipped 24 cents on news that the company is leading a consortium offering $3 billion for a stake in Chinese bank Guangdong. Citigroup was also approved to trade the yuan as an interbank foreign exchange market maker.

Google Inc. fell 1% being a defendant in a lawsuit brought by Rates Technology Inc. which claims that Google inappropriately used Voice-over-IP technology in Google Talk. The American-based company is seeking $5 billion in damages.

Intel Corp. slipped a penny on news that it plans to unveil a new branding strategy.

The airline sector dropped about 1.4%, following a steady morning decline. The computer hardware sector was also weak, adding to Thursday''s losses and moving to its lowest level since late November.

The oil service sector hovered slightly above the flat line, while the retail sector settled slightly below it.

Host Marriott ((HMT)) set a new 52-week high, extending an advanvce which started in mid-November. McDermott International ((MDR)) hit a new peak as well.

Dow component Coca-Cola ((KO)) extended its December decline, setting a new 52-week low. NiSource ((NI)) also added to recent weakness to establish a fresh nadir.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 53.08 points, or 0.49%. The Standard & Poor''s 500 Index was down 6.11 points, or 0.49%. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 13.66 points, or 0.62%.


MOVERS AND SHAKERS

NetGuru ((NGRU)), engineering services company, approved a per-share cash distribution of 85 cents following the company''s November sale of certain assets. The distribution will be made Jan. 27 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 17.The sock surged 43.8%.

Omni Energy Services Corp. ((OMNI)) agreed to acquire Preheat Inc. for $16 million in cash, 900,000 shares of stock and $4 million of buyer promissory notes. The company’s shares rose 17.2%.

Learning Tree International ((LTRE)), information technology educational services provider, forecast Q4 revenue of $36.5 million, down 2% compared with the year-ago period. It also expects a quarterly loss from operations of $400,000 to $600,000. The company said for fiscal 2005 ended Sept. 30, it expects to post revenue of $151.6 million, down from $152.1 million last year, and a loss from operations of $1 million to $1.2 million. The stock dropped 7.7%.

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS NEWS

Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished Friday session mixed to lower. The Nikkei led the decliners, closing the half-day trade down 1.4% to 16,111.43 as investors locked in gains ahead of the extended New Year’s holiday. For the year the Japanese benchmark climbed 40.24%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 1.12% with a total gain for 2005 of 4.5%. Taiwan’s Weighted index fell 0.7%, while India’s BSE index rose 0.7%.

European stocks finished lower Friday, reflecting profit-taking on the last working day of the year and recent weakness on Wall Street. The German DAX 30 lost 0.9%, the French CAC 40 slipped 1.2%, and London’s FTSE 100 declined 0.4%. Each of the major averages finished the year with a gain of at least 17%.

OIL, METALS, CURRENCIES

Crude oil slipped below $60 a barrel on profit-taking after a two-day rally. Light sweet crude for February delivery lost 43 cents to $59.89 a barrel. London Brent fell 47 cents to $58.08.

European gold traded mixed. In London gold rose to $513 per troy ounce, up from $512.50. In Zurich the precious metal declined to $512.85 from $517.03. In Hong Kong gold fell $2.50 to close at $514.40. Silver traded unchanged at $8.59.

The U.S. dollar gained against the euro, fell against other major currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.1829, down from $1.1840. The dollar bought 117.43 yen, down from 117.72. The British pound traded at $1.7235, up from $1.7225.

EARNINGS NEWS

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co ((SMG)), maker of lawn and garden products, forecast a widening loss for Q1 on a continued shift in the timing of retailer purchases. The company anticipates its loss for the period to be 15% to 20% greater than its loss of 75 cents a share in the year-ago period, missing analyst estimate of a loss of 75 cents a share. The increased loss in Q1 is the result of a continued trend by the company’s retail partners to take delivery of our products closer to the time they are purchased by consumers.

Learning Tree International Inc. ((LTRE)), IT educational services provider, forecast Q4 revenue of $36.5 million, down 2% from the year-ago period. The company is to report a quarterly loss from operations of $400,000 to $600,000. Learning Tree announced its fiscal year results were reduced by one-time lease expenses of $800,000 related to the subleasing of space in its U.K. Education Center, and by $1.7 million of external costs relted to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.