Street gives back gains
(01-08 09:16)
US stocks closed lower yesterday amid profit taking from last week's rally and caution on the eve of the start of corporate earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 50.92 points (0.38 percent) at 13,384.29.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 4.58 points (0.31 percent) to 1,461.89, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged down 2.84 (0.09 percent) to 3,098.81, AFP reports.
Stocks gave back some of their gains from last week “amid some cautious afternoon trading preceding unofficial commencement of 4Q earnings season by Dow member Alcoa Inc's report after the closing bell,’’ Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said.
Bank of America shares slipped 0.2 percent after it announced a comprehensive US$11.6 billion deal to settle longstanding claims on soured mortgages with Fannie Mae, as well as the sale of servicing rights on US$306 billion worth of mortgages.
Nationstar Mortgage, one of the buyers of the servicing rights, soared 16.9 percent.
US regulators separately announced that 10 banks, including Bank of America, will pay US$8.5 billion in cash and other assistance to borrowers hurt by their “deficient’’ practices.
On the Nasdaq, Apple fell 0.6 percent after announcing its App Store had a record-setting December, with two billion copies of mini-programs snatched up.
Online retail giant Amazon surged 3.6 percent after gaining an upgrade to “overweight’’ from Morgan Stanley.
Netflix, being challenged by Amazon in online video streaming, added 3.4 percent after it announced a deal to buy content from Warner Brothers Television.
Gene sequencing firm Illumina lost 7.1 percent after Roche Holding's chairman scotched expectations of a Roche takeover in an interview.
Bond prices were essentially flat, with the yield on the 10-year US Treasury steady at 1.91 percent from late Friday and the 30-year edging down to 3.10 percent from 3.11 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
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