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| Airline carriers, utility companies and even pizza deliveries are imposing additional charges to consumers. (August 17) |
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Markets ended mixed Thursday after warnings from retailers and data from the latest economic reports raised concerns that high energy prices may crimp consumer spending and slow the economy.
As of 5:45 p.m. EST, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures pointed to a mostly higher open for the stock market Friday, when fair value is taken into account.
The Dow Jones industrial average (up 4.22 to 10,554.93, Charts) gained 0.04 percent, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (down 1.22 to 1,219.02, Charts) fell 0.1 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (down 9.07 to 2,136.08, Charts) fell 0.4 percent.
Altria (up $2.53 to $70.39, Research) was the leading blue chip gainer, up nearly 4 percent on news that the Illinois Supreme Court threw out a verdict against State Farm Insurance in a case the company hoped would give clues as to how the court will rule on a $10.1 billion verdict against the cigarette maker.
The news helped the major gauges pare their losses and pushed the Dow into positive territory in an otherwise quiet trading day.
"We're in a pretty quiet time of the year," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich Capital. "We've been pretty directionless today. Oil hasn't been doing much."
Analysts said the market did try to stage a rally near midday but was held back by a directionless oil market and worries about an economic soft patch.
The September light sweet crude futures contract settled at $63.27 a barrel, up 2 cents, after dropping to a session low of $62.25 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Market movers
Shares of Myogen Inc. (up $8.11 to $21.65, Research) surged 60 percent on the Nasdaq after the drug maker reported positive midstage trial results on a hypertension drug.
Shares in natural gas transportation company Williams Partners (up $4.00 to $25.50, Research) rose nearly 20 percent in their first day of trading after an initial public offering.
Earlier in the day Google (down $5.11 to $279.99, Research) weighed on techs on news that it had filed with regulators to sell up to 14.8 million of its shares, which would increase the amount of the company's Class A common stock outstanding by about 8 percent. Shares fell more than 2 percent.
Salesforce.com (down $1.88 to $20.32, Research) sank almost 10 percent after the Web-based sales and customer service software maker posted a small profit but forecast results for the current period at the low end of Wall Street expectations.
However, Network Appliance (up $0.58 to $25.10, Research) was up nearly 3 percent after the data storage maker posted a profit in line with its lowered forecast and issued a full-year profit outlook that was above Wall Street estimates.
Morgan Stanley (down $0.55 to $52.30, Research) shares were down more than 1 percent after the investment bank said it would resist shareholder pressure and keep its Discover credit card unit but sell an aircraft-leasing business that has been hurt by the weakened airline industry.
Northwest Airlines (up $0.48 to $5.48, Research) shares rallied nearly 10 percent in early trading on news that the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association said talks with the carrier are leading toward "resolving language issues." In addition, Bear Stearns upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "market perform" saying that the company had priced in a strike risk.
And Six Flags (up $1.00 to $6.49, Research) shares soared nearly 20 percent after Daniel Snyder, dissident shareholder and owner of the Washington Redskins football team, said he wants to sack the board of the theme park operator and is offering a premium for a larger stake in the company.
After hours, Autodesk (Research) said second-quarter net profit nearly doubled from a year ago and shares rose nearly 6 percent on the Inet electronic brokerage from its close at $38.35 on the Nasdaq.
Retail on the run
In retail, Limited (down $1.17 to $22.11, Research) said quarterly profits fell and gave lower-than-forecasted earnings guidance for the rest of the year. Shares were down 5 percent in the afternoon.
And teen shop Hot Topic (down $1.67 to $14.14, Research) said that its second-quarter results missed Wall Street forecasts, sending shares down more than 10 percent.
After the closing bell, Bebe Stores (Research) said its fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled, exceeding Wall Street expectations, while teen-oriented apparel retailer Aeropostale (Research) posted lower second-quarter earnings, but was in line with estimates.
Sharper Image (Research) posted an unexpectedly deep second-quarter loss sending shares down 5 percent on Inet.
And shares of children's apparel retailer Gymboree (Research) fell over 5 percent in extended hours of trading after the company's quarterly revenues just met analysts' forecasts.
Meanwhile, Tommy Hilfiger (up $1.76 to $17.87, Research) saw shares jump nearly 11 percent after the Wall Street Journal said the fashion design company is preparing to auction itself in the coming weeks.
The retail sector has taken a beating on poor results from Wal-Mart (up $0.28 to $47.24, Research) and Abercrombie & Fitch (down $0.11 to $58.74, Research) that sparked worries that high oil and record-breaking gasoline prices were taking a chunk out of consumer spending.
It's the economy
The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey for August rose to 17.5 from 9.6 in July, versus an expected to rise to 14.0, according to analysts surveyed by Briefing.com.
In other economic news, the Labor Department said that initial jobless claims rose to 316,000 from a revised 310,000 the previous week. While the number topped expectations, it came in well below the 333,000 recorded for the same period a year ago.
And the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators rose 0.1 percent in July, which was less than expected and suggested moderate growth going into the fall.
Volume was light and market breadth was negative. Losers topped winners on the New York Stock Exchange more than three to two as 1.4 billion shares changed hands. Meanwhile, decliners beat advancers on the Nasdaq about four to three as 1.4 billion shares were traded.
Volume is typically lower in August, which makes for exaggerated trading moves.
Major markets in Asia closed mixed Thursday, while major European markets ended the day lower.
Treasury prices were higher, cutting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.20 percent from 4.27 percent late Wednesday. The dollar gained ground against the euro and the yen.
COMEX gold lost 50 cents to $444.70.
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