Stocks on Wall Street rose early and for most of Friday’s trading session, propelled by another day of impressive earnings reports, only to tumble shortly before the bell as emerging markets were eviscerated by the Central Bank’s increasingly hawkish stance on the stimulus cuts was once again reiterated, this time by Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher.
Friday’s Results
? Standard & Poor’s 500: -0.19 percent to 1,836.25
? Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.19 percent to 16,103.30
? NASDAQ: -0.10 percent to 4,263.41
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On the S&P 500
Materials companies were among the stocks most hit by the late sell-off on Friday, with Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) off over 8 percent, while Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) lost nearly 4.5 percent. Blue chips also struggled, with a 1.3 percent drop for both Intel (INTC) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) .
On the Dow
Verizon Communications (VZ) and Chevron (CVX) led the way down, each nearing losses of almost 2 percent, though the benchmark index was helped on the upside by Nike (NKE) and Walt Disney (DIS) , both of whom added 1.2 percent ahead of the closing bell.
On the NASDAQ
Groupon Inc. (GRPN) was the most spectacular victim of the sell off, dropping a precipitous 22 percent on the exchange’s heaviest trading after its earnings statement sorely disappointed investors. Tech stocks struggled overall, with Facebook (FB) off 1.5 percent, and Zynga (ZNGA) shedding 1.8, but Microsivison Inc. (MVIS) was a standout, adding another 6 percent for a second day of substantial gains.
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