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| Currency | US Dollar |
|---|---|
| British Pound to US Dollar | 1.633720 |
| Euro to US Dollar | 1.398406 |
| Japanese Yen to US Dollar | 0.010414 |
| Canadian Dollar to US Dollar | 0.861846 |
Stocks fell back today as dreadful auto sales, profit-taking and Middle East tensions weighed on many investors' minds.
The Dow Jones industrials closed down 82 points, 0.9%, to 8,953. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 4 points, 0.5%, to 927, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 4 points, 0.3%, to 1,628.
The decline shouldn't have been a big surprise. The major indexes had risen in five of the past six sessions, where volume was low because of the holiday season.
Futures trading suggests a modestly higher open on Tuesday.
Volume was low again today, with trading on the New York Stock Exchange floor hit just 1.3 billion shares -- 20% or so below the normal level of the last year. Nasdaq volume reached 1.8 billion shares, about 80% of average.
Crude oil, meanwhile, jumped 5.3% to $48.81 in New York as worries about Israeli attacks on Gaza boosted prices. Crude has jumped 38% since hitting a bottom of $35.35 on Dec. 24.
Oil and gas production stocks were higher. Apache (APA, news, msgs) rose 4.8% to $83.05; Anadarko Petroleum (APC, news, msgs) was up 2% to $41.44.
Selling seemed to accelerate after President-elect Barack Obama said that economic conditions were worsening.
A brutal month for auto sales
General Motors (GM, news, msgs) confirmed what its chief rivals already said about December: It was a brutal month.GM sold about 221,983 vehicles in December, down 31% from a year ago, helped out by 42% gain in sales of its Chevrolet Malibu sedan. The stock, however, moved 1.6% higher to $3.71 because analysts had expected a 41% decline in sales.
Ford Motor (F, news, msgs) said its sales were off 32.4% to 139,067 vehicles, in line with estimates. Its market shares went up slight for a third straight month.
Toyota Motor (TM, news, msgs) sales fell 36.7% to 141,949, and Honda Motor (HMC, news, msgs) sales were down 34.7% to 86,085 units.
For the year, GM sales were 2.98 million units, down 23% from 2007 and at a 49-year low. Ford sales were down off 21%. Toyota sales were down 16.3%, and Honda sales fell 8.2%.
German automaker Daimler (DAI, news, msgs) posted a 23.5% drop in December sales. The company's Mercedes sales fell 32.1% last month.
The only automaker showing a sales gain in 2008 was Subaru, which sold 187,699 vehicles, up slightly from 187,208. That gain was only because it had 308 selling days in 2008, one more than in 2007. When you adjusted to measure sales on a per selling day basis, Subaru sales were off slightly for the year.
Privately held Chrysler said its sales slumped 53% to 89,813.
Overall, 2008 was the worst year for the industry since 1992. Analyst Stephanie Brinley of AutoPacific in Southfield, Mich., said 2010 may be worse. "It's not a gas problem. It's not a credit problem. It's a consumer confidence problem, and it's worldwide," she told Bloomberg News.
But Edmunds.com analyst Jesse Toprak told Markwatch.com that he see a turnaround coming in the middle of the year.
The auto industry has been slumping because of the credit crunch and consumer slowdown that hit most Americans last year, forcing the automakers to plead for help from the federal government.
In December, the Bush administration announced emergency loans to GM and Chrysler to help them continue to operate through the next few months. GM and Chrysler must show substantial restructuring by the end of March in exchange for the loans.
Ford shares were up 4.9% to $2.58. Toyota shares in New York were down 1.1% to $65.62, and Honda shares fell 2% $21.37.
| Company | Dec. 08 | Dec. 07 | Chg. | 2008 | 2007 | Chg.* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chrysler | 89,813 | 191,423 | -53.1% | 1,450,000 | 2,076,650 | -30.4% |
Daimler | 20,848 | 27,269 | -23.5% | 249,750 | 253,433 | -1.8% |
Ford | 139,067 | 205,685 | -32.4% | 1,988,376 | 2,507,366 | -21.0% |
General Motors | 221,983 | 323,453 | -31.4% | 2,980,688 | 3,866,620 | -23.2% |
Honda | 86,085 | 131,792 | -34.7% | 1,428,765 | 1,551,542 | -8.2% |
Nissan | 62,102 | 89,555 | -30.7% | 951,350 | 1,068,238 | -11.2% |
Toyota | 141,949 | 224,399 | -36.7% | 2,217,660 | 2,619,050 | -15.6% |
Subaru | 17,287 | 18,739 | -7.7% | 187,699 | 187,208 | -0.1% |
Porsche | 2,154 | 2,891 | -25.5% | 26,035 | 34,693 | -25.2% |
Volkswagen | 25,470 | 29,460 | -13.5% | 314,317 | 328,997 | -4.8% |
*Change adjusts for 308 selling days in 2008 and 307 selling days in 2007.
Energy, tech shares provide some market support
The Dow fell 120 points right after the open on worries about rising tensions in the Middle East and deepening economic woes.But the market gained some strength from Apple (AAPL, news, msgs) CEO Steve Jobs, who said hormonal problems were causing his health problems. The stock was up 4.2% to $94.58.
In addition, Google (GOOG, news, msgs) rose 2.1% to $328.05, and Research In Motion (RIMM, news, msgs) was up 3.3% to $43.30. Apple, Google and Research In Motion added more 7.3 points to the Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX.X), which tracks the largest Nasdaq stocks. The index was down 1 point to 1,263.
The Dow kicked off 2009 with a 258-point gain on Friday, prompting some optimism about the new year after a dismal 2008.
"With the stock market being a leading indicator, even a poor first and second quarter earnings-wise could be priced in already," Madison Prop Trading's Chris Conefry said. "Sometimes hope alone is enough to start a rally."
Banks were weaker after Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Mayo cut estimates on JPMorgan Chase (JPM, news, msgs), Wells Fargo (WFC, news, msgs), Bank of America (BAC, news, msgs) and Citigroup (C, news, msgs).
- Top Stocks blog: 2008 was better for banks than you think
Mayo told clients in a note today that rising unemployment and other problems will put pressure on loan portfolios, especially credit cards and residential and commercial mortgages.
JPMorgan Chase was down 6.7% to $29.25, the worst performer of the 30 Dow stocks. Bank of America was off 2.4% to $13.98. Wells Fargo dropped 6.5% to $28.06. Citigroup was off 0.8% to $7.08.
Only eight Dow stocks had gains today. At the same time, 241 S&P 500 stocks showed gains, along with 57 Nasdaq-100 stocks.
| Mon. | Fri. | Chg. | Month chg. | YTD chg. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude oil (NYMEX) (per barrel) | $48.81 | $46.34 | $2.47 | 9.44% | 9.44% |
| Heating oil (per gallon) | $1.5763 | $1.4803 | $0.0960 | 12.14% | 12.14% |
| Natural gas (per million BTU) | $6.0720 | $5.9710 | $0.1010 | 8.00% | 8.00% |
| Unleaded gasoline (per gallon) | $1.1824 | $1.1105 | $0.0719 | 17.28% | 17.28% |
Jobs says his weight problem is not cancer
Apple CEO Steve Jobs finally discussed his health issues.His sickly appearance, he wrote in a letter posted on Apple's Web site, was due to a hormone imbalance. Jobs looked gaunt and very thin at recent events and appearances, prompting worries that his cancer had returned -- and hurting the company's stock price.
- Read more: Jobs discloses health issue
The announcement comes as Macworld expo kicks off today. Jobs recently said he would not be giving the keynote speech at Macworld for the first time since 1997, sparking a rash of rumors about his health.
Payrolls report on tap this week
Investors have a slew of economic data to parse through this week, with the final jobs report for 2008 at the end of the week.Analysts expect the report to show that nonfarm payrolls fell by 500,000 in December, wrapping up one of the worst years for job losses since the end of World War II. For the year through November, economy had shed 1.91 million jobs through November.
Economists expect the unemployment rate to rise to 7% from 6.7% in November.
"Investors should be prepared for the worst in terms of the labor market," Matt King, chief investment officer at Bell Investment Advisors, told CNNMoney.com. "The unemployment rate could rise to more than 7% this month and may go to 8%, 9% or 10% in the year ahead."
Investors can also look forward to -- or avoid -- reports on November construction spending, the service sector and pending home sales figures, as well as minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's Dec. 15-16 policy meeting. The FOMC is the Federal Reserve's rate-making body.
Construction spending fell by 0.6% in November after a 1.2% decline in October. Economists had expected a 1.2% drop.
- Top Stocks blog: Saving jobs and cutting taxes
The Institute of Supply Management's service sector survey will likely show a reading of 37 for December, a slight decline from the 37.3 reading in November.
A report on the housing market will continue to be closely monitored when the National Association of Realtors issues its November pending home sales figures.
Minutes from the FOMC meeting will be scrutinized after the central bank lowered the federal funds rate to between 0% and 0.25% to try to tackle the slumping economy.
The ISM survey and the home sales figures will be released Tuesday morning. The FOMC minutes will be released Tuesday afternoon.
Obama may pitch a tax cut
President-elect Barack Obama and his transition team are working on a plan to cut $300 billion in taxes, a move to help attract Republicans to support his economic stimulus plan.Obama is meeting with leaders of both parties today to discuss his plans.
"We're working with Congress to develop a tax-cut package based on a simple principle: What will have the biggest and most immediate impact on creating private-sector jobs and strengthening the middle class?" transition-team spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter told The Wall Street Journal. "We're guided by what works, not by any ideology or special interests."
More from MSN Money
Over the weekend, Obama outlined five main goals for his recovery plan: double renewable energy production and make public buildings more energy-efficient; rebuild crumbling roads, bridges and schools; computerize the health care system; modernize classrooms, labs and libraries; and provide tax breaks to American workers.
"Economists from across the political spectrum agree that if we don't act swiftly and boldly, we could see a much deeper economic downturn," Obama said Sunday in his weekly radio address.
Economy in focus as inauguration approaches
While Friday's stock gains provided some cheer for investors, many are skeptical that the economy will recover this year, even if the stock markets manage to make gains -- stock markets typically recover before the economy rebounds."The financial and economic firestorm we face today poses a serious risk of an extended period of stagnation -- a very grim outcome," Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, said in prepared remarks for a speech at this weekend's American Economics Association's annual meeting in San Francisco.
Other conference attendees were worried about the impact of the government's moves to try to react to the downturn in 2008.
"We don't know what to do. It's really a throw-the-kitchen-sink-at-the-problem strategy. It is hard to argue with it in the middle of the crisis, but you can bet everyone will 10 years from now," Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, said at the conference.
Yellen supported Obama's stimulus plan. "If ever in my professional career there was a time for active, discretionary fiscal stimulus, it is now," Yellen said.
Andrew Rosenbaum contributed to this report.
| Mon. | Fri. | Chg. | Month chg. | YTD chg. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treasurys | |||||
| 13-week Treasury bill | 0.085% | 0.085% | 0.000 | -26.09% | -26.09% |
| 5-year Treasury note yield | 1.694% | 1.727% | -0.033 | 9.22% | 9.22% |
| 10-year Treasury note yield | 2.488% | 2.416% | 0.072 | 10.87% | 10.87% |
| 30-year Treasury bond yield | 3.040% | 2.815% | 0.225 | 12.97% | 12.97% |
| Currencies | |||||
| U.S. Dollar Index | 83.575 | 82.805 | 0.770 | 1.73% | 1.73% |
| British pound in dollars | $1.4712 | $1.4543 | 0.0169 | -0.15% | -0.15% |
| Dollar in British pounds | £0.6797 | £0.6876 | -0.0079 | 0.15% | 0.15% |
| Euro in dollars | $1.3635 | $1.3891 | -0.0256 | -2.67% | -2.67% |
| Dollar in euros | € 0.7334 | € 0.7199 | 0.0135 | 2.75% | 2.75% |
| Dollar in yen | 93.29 | 92.11 | 1.18 | 2.91% | 2.91% |
| Canadian dollar in U.S. dollars | $0.841 | $0.830 | $0.0108 | 2.77% | 2.77% |
| U.S. dollar in Canadian dollars | $1.191 | $1.205 | -$0.0146 | -2.69% | -2.69% |
| Commodities | |||||
| Gold | $879.50 | $884.30 | -$4.80 | -0.54% | -0.54% |
| Copper | $1.4610 | $1.4100 | $0.05 | 3.62% | 3.62% |
| Silver | $11.4900 | $11.2950 | $0.20 | 1.73% | 1.73% |
| Corn | $4.1125 | $4.1225 | -$0.01 | 1.04% | 1.04% |
| Crude oil (NYMEX) (per barrel) | $46.34 | $44.60 | $1.74 | 3.90% | 3.90% |
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