U.S. stocks fall for a second straight week after personal spending sinks for the first time in five months and consumer confidence declines. Gold miner earnings reports surprise investors.
Hi. I’m SAYOKO MURASE. Welcome to the “Weekly Market Wrap” for Friday, October 30, 2009.
Major equity indexes retreated sharply today after their biggest single-day jump in more than three months on Thursday.
For the week, the Dow Industrials ended the week LOWER, and the S&P 500 Index closed DOWN as well. The Nasdaq Composite Index DECLINED.
Crude-oil futures dipped on Friday as tepid economic reports led to a reassessment of future energy demand. This price action followed yesterday’s 3.1 percent surge on news the U.S. economy is growing again after months of negative growth.
Oil has gained more than 11 percent in October, driven largely by a weakening U.S. dollar and signals of global economic expansion.
Crude-oil futures DOWN for the week.
Gold fell from a high of $1,060 on Monday to as low as $1,027 an ounce on Thursday. Gold futures are down for the week.
The government's advance estimate of GDP showed the economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.5%, the first growth quarter in more than a year, beating analyst estimates of 3 percent. The economic news sent Treasury prices and the dollar lower on Thursday as traders gained more appetite for risk.
The IMF raised its 2009-2010 growth forecast for Asia's economy, warning that lingering problems in the global financial system still poses risks. The IMF forecasts Asian growth of 2.8 percent this year and 5.8 percent for 2010, up from previous estimates of 1.2 percent and 4.3 percent
In third quarter earnings news, mortgage REIT Annaly Mortgage (NYSE:NLY) reported 75 cents per share in profits, beating consensus estimates of 72 cents.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) posted $1.06 per share earnings for the third quarter, beating the consensus of 99 cents.
This was a big week for gold miner earnings. Agnico-Eagle (NYSE:AEM) kicked off the week with a large earnings miss. The company reported an adjusted 3 cents per share profit. Analysts were expecting 20 cents per share.
Other gold miners did much better, with industry leader Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) reporting an adjusted 54 cents a share in profits, beating the consensus by 7 cents.
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) earnings came in even stronger at 79 cents per share, beating the Street by 24 cents.
Mid-tier producer Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) also beat third quarter expectations by a penny on earnings of 8 cents per share.
This is the “Weekly Market Wrap” for Friday, October 30. Please join us on Monday with the “Week Ahead Market Report” and have a Happy Halloween.
For MarketNewsVideo.com, I'm SAYOKO MURASE.
