Financials weigh on Wall Street

Financials weigh on Wall Street

By Tracey Warren (Stockbroking BDM, CMC Markets Stockbroking)

Financial stocks burdened Wall Street overnight as the S&P 500 slips further away from record highs chalked up in 2013. Disappointing earnings from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup left a bitter taste with the S&P 500 closing down at 1,845.89 and the Dow Jones Industrial average ended 64.93 points lower at 16,417.01. Best Buy was the worst performer tumbling 27.6 percent as the electronics chain reported a drop in holiday sales and forecast a larger-than-expected decline in operating margins.

A jump in continuing US Jobless claims saw the US dollar come under pressure losing ground against both the Euro and Yen. However, the dollar’s up trend remains intact. A surprise fall in Australian employment in yesterday’s trading session again roused speculation of another interest rate cut from the RBA. The local unit fell to a low 0.8777 against the greenback, continuing its weak trend for the week.

In relatively quiet trade global oil prices have eased with Brent dipping to USD$107.09 per barrel. Gold nudged higher to USD $1,241.99 an ounce despite benign inflation data reported around the globe this week. Iron ore was slightly lower at USD $128.3 a tonne ahead of important industrial production data planned for release on Monday.

Today will see consumer confidence figures released in Japan along with Building Permits and Prelim Consumer Sentiment data for the States.

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