Proactiveinvestors recommends
Pdf

Dow lower on Greek debt drama, Disney in focus

8th May 2012, 2:51 pm by Joyanta Acharjee
Dow lower on Greek debt drama, Disney in focus

U.S. equity markets were lower Tuesday afternoon as Greece's uncertain political situation kept investors on edge.

As at 2.35pm EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.06% at 12,870.31, the S&P 500 was 0.95% lower at 1,356.53 and the Nasdaq was down 0.94% at 2,929.72.

All eyes continue to be on Europe, after Greece's main center-right party failed to form a coalition government. Now, the left-wing coalition, which is opposed to austerity as the way to close Greece's debt gap, will have three days to form a government.

The latest development is feeding investors' fears that Greece might have to drop out of the eurozone.

In corporate news, McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) said Tuesday that global comparable sales grew 3.3 percent in April, compared to six percent growth in the same month last year, as performance in all markets slowed, especially in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region.

Dow component Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) will report earnings after the close Tuesday, after seeing a blockbuster opening weekend for the hit, "The Avengers".

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predict Disney will report earnings per share of 55 cents on $9.5 in revenue.

Fast food chain Wendys (NASDAQ:WEN) reported operating income of 1 cent a share, well below analyst forecasts for a profit of 3 cents a share. Shares were down over 5%.

Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE:TAP) reported an increase in first-quarter profit on Tuesday, spurred by price increases, beating Street estimates on earnings, but falling short on sales.

DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) said Tuesday that fiscal first-quarter revenues grew 12 percent on the back of subscriber growth in Latin America. But in the US, DirecTV said it added 81,000 customers in the first quarter, missing analysts' average forecast of 92,000, according to StreetAccount data.

Shares for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) slipped after the video game publisher cut its first-quarter outlook for the period ending in June.

On the economic front, The National Federation of Independent Business’ monthly optimism index gained 2 points in April, settling at 94.5, the highest reading since December 2007.

However, that merely brings the index back to its February 2011 level, indicating a net gain of zero in the past year.

Commodities

On the NYMEX, crude futures for June delivery fell $1.47 to $96.47 a barrel while gold futures for June delivery dropped $34.20 to $1,604.90 an ounce.

Europe

European stocks fell sharply with the FTSE 100 down 1.7%, the DAX shedding 1.9% and the CAC 40 falling 3%.

Early Tuesday, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy announced on his Twitter feed that he has set May 23 as the date for an unscheduled EU summit.

No investment advice


Proactive Investors North America Inc, trades as "Proactiveinvestors USA & Canada".


You understand and agree that no content published on the Site constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable or advisable for any specific person. You further understand that none of the information providers or their affiliates will advise you personally concerning the nature, potential, advisability, value or suitability of any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, investment strategy, or other matter.


You understand that the Site may contain opinions from time to time with regard to securities mentioned in other products, including company related products, and that those opinions may be different from those obtained by using another product related to the Company. You understand and agree that contributors may write about securities in which they or their firms have a position, and that they may trade such securities for their own account. In cases where the position is held at the time of publication and such position is known to the Company, appropriate disclosure is made. However, you understand and agree that at the time of any transaction that you make, one or more contributors may have a position in the securities written about. You understand that price and other data is supplied by sources believed to be reliable, that the calculations herein are made using such data, and that neither such data nor such calculations are guaranteed by these sources, the Company, the information providers or any other person or entity, and may not be complete or accurate.


From time to time, reference may be made in our marketing materials to prior articles and opinions we have published. These references may be selective, may reference only a portion of an article or recommendation, and are likely not to be current. As markets change continuously, previously published information and data may not be current and should not be relied upon.


You understand that we may be providing advertising and/or marketing services to companies mentioned on the site. A full list of companies that are paying for services from us, or our affiliated companies in the UK and Australia can be viewed here