MARKET FOCUS
U.S. equities fell again on Monday, as IT stocks came under selling pressure at lofty levels. The sell-off extended the losses suffered on Friday due to instability in Iraq.
Reflecting concern about the situation in the Middle East, gold futures jumped $3.30 to $386.70 an ounce.
Hardware maker Hewlett-Packard fell due to negative comments from Goldman Sachs, which noted the stock could be a “sell” at $25, based on valuation. Rival IBM rallied on a positive write-up in a financial newspaper.
Chipmaker giant Intel was another bright spot, as a brokerage firm upped its recommendation to “overweight,” on anticipation of a strong fourth quarter. But Germany’s Infineon Technologies fell on a fourth-quarter growth warning.
The printing sector was in the spotlight as R.R. Donnelley announced it is buying printing services provider Moore Wallace for $2.8 billion.
OUTLOOK
Investors focus on the Nasdaq Composite index, which is still facing a major technical hurdle around the 2,000 level, last seen in June 2002.
Also, weekly claims for unemployment benefits will remain in the spotlight on Thursday for signs of further improvement in the jobs market. Claims have moved further away from the 400,000 level that signals a contraction in the labor market.
THE NUMBERS
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 55 points, or 0.6 percent, to 9,755. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 29 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,942, while the Nasdaq-100 index of large-capitalization tech and biotech stocks ended down 1.5 percent at 1,414.
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