Total Investor

US stocks fell on Monday despite deal activity from Intel and 3M as investors continued to fret about the health of the economy.

The drop came in thin trading. NYSE Composite volume on Monday totalled about three billion shares, making it the lowest-volume day this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 140.92 points (1.39%) to 10,009.73. With just one day left in the month, the measure is off 4.4% for August.

Bank of America was one of the Dow’s weakest performers with a drop of 32 cents (2.5%) to $12.32. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray pledged to move forward aggressively with two investor lawsuits over Bank of America’s disclosures before its acquisition of investment bank Merrill Lynch. “The court ruled that companies cannot pick and choose what they will tell their shareholders,” Cordray said.

Intel was also weak with a decline of 41 cents (2.2%) to $17.96, after the chip giant agreed to buy the wireless unit of Germany’s Infineon Technologies for $1.4bn.

Conglomerate 3M shed $1.35 (1.7%) to $79.65. The company agreed to acquire small-capitalisation Cogent in a deal valued at $943m, though 3M will only pay $430m to account for the fingerprint-identification systems maker’s large cash pile.

Deal activity failed to excite investors as worries about the sustainability of the economic recovery lingered. Weak readings on personal income and Texas-area manufacturing activity added to the market’s concerns at the start of a week that includes key reports on manufacturing, unemployment and retailers’ same-store sales.

Hewlett-Packard was the Dow’s lone gainer, with an increase of 56 cents (1.5%) to $38.56. The company, which remains in a battle with Dell for 3Par, authorised an additional $10bn to buy back its own stock and said it has been selected by the US Air Force for a five-year purchase contract that could be worth up to $800m.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 33.66 (1.56%) to 2,119.97. It is off 6% for the month.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 15.67 (1.47%) to 1,048.92, putting its drop for the month at 4.8%. All of the measure’s sectors ended the day in the red, led by financials.

Base metals on the LME were closed for a holiday. Gold futures continued their incremental march higher as market participants remain wary about the economic recovery and anticipate a return of more robust buying of the metal in September. Crude-oil settled slightly lower, dropping after a three-session rally as data due this week is expected to show that the economy continues to struggle.

Australian Stock Prices Overnight

ResMed rose by US$1.44 to US$61.19, equivalent to A$6.78, A$3.41 above its last close on the ASX.

In London, Rio Tinto rose 46.5 pence to £32.24, A$0.80 higher in Australian currency terms.

BHP-Billiton fell 4.5 pence to £17.98, A$0.08 lower in Australian currency terms.

Henderson Group Plc rose 2.7 pence to £1.24, A$0.05 higher in Australian currency terms.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.