Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/62613
10A Daily News – Friday, April 20, 2012 A slew of U.S. companies announced big profits Thursday, but investors spooked about the econo- my sold stocks anyway. Investors shifted between buying and sell- NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks drop on mixed news on profits, economy Wall Street ing early, then stuck with selling after deciding that the strong earnings results weren't enough to make up for weak reports on trial average fell 68.65 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 12,964.10. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 8.22 jobs, housing and manu- facturing. The Dow Jones indus- points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,376.92. Morgan Stanley rose 2.3 percent after it beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates. United- Health Group Inc. rose 2.4 percent after reporting higher profits. EBay, Southwest Airlines and Bank of America also beat forecasts. two relatively weak eco- nomic reports came out mid-morning. An index of regional manufacturing compiled by the Philadel- phia branch of the Federal Reserve dropped sharply, and the National Associa- tion of Realtors said home sales fell 2.6 percent last month. Stock indexes fell after up 2.8 percent in post-mar- ket trading after reporting a rise in sales of its Win- dows operating system. Thursday's slide began from the start of trading. Investors were on edge after stocks fell a day ear- lier on worries that Spain could have trouble paying down its government debt. Adding to the jitters, the Bank of Spain had report- ed that bad loans at the country's banks had hit an 18-year high. Earlier, the Labor Department said applica- tions for unemployment benefits dipped 2,000 to 386,000. When the num- ber is above 375,000, investors take it as a sign that hiring isn't strong enough to lower the unem- ployment rate. ''None of these (reports) were disastrous, but they're not as strong as we like to see,'' said Brian Lazorishak, a portfolio manager at Chase Invest- ment Counsel in Char- lottesville, Va. Thursday, investors were nervously watching a sale of new government bonds from Spain. The auction met with high demand, and more bonds were sold than expected, but yields rose anyway. Before the opening bell down more than 1 percent each. Uri Landesman, presi- dent of hedge fund Plat- inum Partners, said the good earnings are a bit of a sideshow. ''There are big- ger things at work here — European fears, unem- ployment,'' he said. ''Peo- ple are more worried about what's going to happen than what's in the rearview mirror.'' lower after noon. By mid- afternoon the Dow was down 136 points. The S&P 500 was hit by a drop in Apple. Stocks started drifting In other trading, the Nasdaq composite fell 23.89 points, or 0.8 per- cent, to 3,007.56. Tech stocks could be in for some gains Friday follow- ing a strong earnings report after the closing bell Thursday from Microsoft. The software maker was The yield on Spanish 10-year notes rose to 5.87 percent, an increase of 0.06 percentage point. European markets mostly fell. Spain's IBEX index fell 2.4 percent, Greece's main index 1.8 percent and France's CAC-40 fell 2 percent. All but three of the 30 stocks in the Dow fell. Companies whose profits are more closely tied to the economic cycle fell the most. Alcoa, an aluminum maker, and DuPont, a chemicals company, lost more than 1 percent each. Travelers, an insurer, rose 4.3 percent after a strong earnings report. Eight of the ten indus- try sectors in the S&P 500 fell. The biggest losers were industrial and infor- mation technology stocks, RANDAL S. ELLOWAY DDS IMPLANT DENTISTRY 2426 SO. MAIN ST., RED BLUFF 530-527-6777 FACT SHEET ON DENTAL IMPLANTS DENTAL IMPLANTS: * are the most advanced tooth replacement system ever devised *help preserve jawbone to prevent the appearance of premature aging The iPhone maker dropped 3.4 percent to $587. Some analysts think the stock's recent drop is just investors taking profits after a big run-up. Others think the fall reflects fear that that the company will sell fewer iPhones than expected. news, Tumi Holdings, a maker of high-end lug- gage, jumped 47 percent to $26.50 on its first day of trading. In other corporate The U.S.-listed shares of cell phone maker Nokia sank 3.8 percent after the Finnish company reported a loss for the first three months of the year and a 40 percent plunge in device sales. The company faces fierce competition from the iPhone and hand- set makers that use Google's Android soft- ware. Human Genome Sci- ences doubled to $14.17 after the company spurned a takeover offer from GlaxoSmithKline of $13 per share, saying it under- values the company. The biotech drug maker, which produces the lupus treat- ment Benlysta, said it would consider other options including a sale of the company. *look and function like natural teeth *are placed/restored in the doctor's office with minimal discomfort *improves comfort, appearance, speech * have a 95% success rate * allow you to eat the foods you love and talk, laugh and smile with confidence * represent a conservative treatment option-- adjacent teeth are left untouched * never develop decay * can provide great stability for lower denture * can completely eliminate the need for a denture * can help people of any age * give patients a third set of teeth that are natural looking and very long-lasting Ask yourself the following questions: Are you missing one or more of your natural teeth? Do you have a complete or partial denture that is no longer completely comfortable? Have you ever been embarrassed by a denture or a bridge? If you answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, call us today at (530) 527-6777 to schedule an evaluation appointment. We would be pleased to evaluate your oral health and discuss treatment options with you. DAILYNEWS $6500 in Discount Coupons were published last week in the RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY … And that does not Count all the ads offering percentage discounts, two-for-ones and Free-with-Purchase offers! Don't miss a Day of it! Subscribe Today 527-2151 It pays for itself.