US markets ended mixed as dismal December retail sales offset strength in techs, led by Microsoft. Wal Mart led the Dow's decline, falling 8.5%, after it missed its December sales target and slashed its earnings forecast.
However, losses were mitigated somewhat by better than expected weekly jobless claims even though continuing claims rose and analysts estimated that monthly jobs numbers to be released today could show more than half a million jobs cut from payrolls in December and a jump in the unemployment rate to 7%.
At closing bell, Dow Jones ended down 28 points at 8742. Nasdaq ends up 18 points at 1617 and S&P 500 up 4 points at 909.
No comments:
Post a Comment