Stocks on Wall Street plunged to start the week today as attention shifts to the ongoing financial troubles of the European Union. Investors fear that the inability to reign in problematic economies like Greece, Portugal and Ireland could spread to larger problems around the world. It seem’s that Greece’s debt problems may also affect the perception of surrounding nation’s as well. Italy’s credit outlook was downgraded today by Standard & Poor’s, but is still seen as stable by the other two major ratings agencies. Meanwhile, last week’s major news was the success of LinkedIn’s (NYSE: LNKD) IPO, which ended the first day trading over 109 percent from its initial offering price. Though shares of the social network were offered at $45, the stock closed the day at $94.25 and even traded as high as $122.70. The exuberance may be fading, however, as shares of LinkedIn are down nearly 9 percent on the day and trading around $85.
Major U.S. Stock Indices
DJIA: 12,361.36
S&P 500: 1,315.93
NASDAQ: 2,756.96
Russell 2000: 815.65
In other news:
- Too Big To Fail is premiering on HBO tonight. The movie is based on Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book on the financial crisis and what Wall Street and the government did to save the economy. The casting job alone makes this one to watch. [Dealbook]
- A devastating tornado hit Missouri this morning, leaving over 100 dead so far. [NY Times]
- Spain is privatizing its national lottery system in what is expected to be the country’s largest IPO ever. The Spanish government expects to raise over $10 billion from the deal. [WSJ]
- Another insider trading scandal takes Wall Street. This time $14 billion hedge fund SAC Capital is being probed by investigators for potentially trading stocks and options on insider information. [Marketwatch]
- Things don’t seem to be getting better for Sony (NYSE: SNE), which said it expects a $3.2 billion net loss for the year. This would mark the third consecutive year the company posted a loss.
Check back for more news.
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