Stock Market News for November 24, 2010

Concerned about the skirmish in the Korean peninsula and the Federal Reserve’s darker view about the economy, investors sold off stocks Tuesday, sending major indexes off at least 1.3% and reigniting worries about the pace and strength of the economic recovery. Fears that Ireland’s debt woes could spread beyond the country’s borders also played a part in the market’s slide yesterday.

The Dow average plunged more than 142 points, or 1.3%, for its fourth drop in the past six sessions as downbeat news on the economy and reports that North Korea had fired artillery shells on a South Korean island, killing two South Korean soldiers, had investors dumping equities.  

The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite index dropped 1.5% to 2494.95 and the broader S&P’s 500-stock index fell 1.4% to 1180.73. On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues beat those that rose in price by a four-to-one margin. The CBOE Vix, the market’s measure of volatility, shot up 14% to 21.

The greenback advanced 1.3% against a basket of six other currencies. A stronger dollar weighed on shares of energy companies, sending Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Analyst Report) and ExxonMobil off (NYSE:XOM - Analyst Report) at least 2%. The flight to safety sent Treasury prices higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note fell to 2.78% from 2.80% late Monday. Gold prices advanced 1.5% to $1377.60. 

The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, slashed its economic growth forecast for 2010 to 2.4% to 2.5%, down sharply from its earlier view of 3% to 3.5%. For 2011, the economy is expected to grow in the range of 3% to 3.6%.   

This morning’s stock futures suggest a modestly higher opening as investors parse a raft of economic readings for signs of strength in the domestic economy. Ahead of the opening bell, the Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 28 points, or 0.25%, to 11,042. S&P 500 futures rose 3.7 points, or 0.31%, to 1,182. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 4.75 points, or 0.22%, to 2,123.

Yesterday, losses were broad based, with twenty-nine of the thirty components that make up the Dow closing in the red. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ - Analyst Report) was the only gainer, up 2.2%, to $44.19, after the company reported better-than-expected results and came out with a better-than-expected outlook. However, fellow blue-chips failed to take the lead and dropped with the broader market. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Analyst Report) fell 2.4%, JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM - Analyst Report) and Disney (NYSE:DIS - Analyst Report) dropped 2.3% and Merck (NYSE:MRK - Analyst Report) fell 2.2%.

All ten S&P500 industry sectors dropped at least 1% on the day. Oil and gas and basic material sector shares fell 1.9%, financials 1.5%, tech 1.4%, industrials and health care 1.3%, consumer goods and consumer services 1.2%, with telecommunications and utility sector shares down 1.0%.

Weakness in technology issues sent NASDAQ components Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO - Analyst Report) off 1.8%, Brocade Communications (NASDAQ:BRCM - Analyst Report) down 10%, and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - Analyst Report) off 0.8%.

Read the full analyst report on CVX

Read the full analyst report on XOM

Read the full analyst report on HPQ

Read the full analyst report on MSFT

Read the full analyst report on JPM

Read the full analyst report on DIS

Read the full analyst report on MRK

Read the full analyst report on CSCO

Read the full analyst report on BRCM

Read the full analyst report on INTC