'Stocks hit by economic woesWall Street falters as investors look to weak reports on factory orders and housing, spiking oil prices.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks tumbled Wednesday morning as investors eyed a weak reading on factory orders, talk that Clear Channel's purchase could fall through and spiking oil and gold prices.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) had lost over 100 points, or 1% over an hour into the session. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index gave back 1% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 1.3%.
Stocks slipped at the open on a weak factory orders report released earlier in the morning. The selloff accelerated after the release of the February new home sales report and the weekly oil inventory report. Crude supplies rose far less than expected last week, sending oil prices spiking more than $3 a barrel.
Stocks were mixed Tuesday as weak readings on housing and consumer confidence countered attempts at extending the recent advance.
Economic news. New home sales fell to a 13-year low in February, the government reported. However, the decline was smaller than what economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected.
Orders for manufactured goods slumped 1.7% in February versus forecasts for a rise of 0.8%, the government reported. January's drop in durable goods was revised to 4.7% from an initial read of 5.3%.
Company news. The $19 billion purchase of radio broadcaster Clear Channel (CCU, Fortune 500) could fall apart because banks are reluctant to provide financing to the private equity firms looking to buy the company, according to reports. Shares slid 15.5%.
Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) shares slipped 4% in active trade. The bank has agreed to pay nearly $1.7 billion to creditors of bankrupt energy firm Enron. Additionally, Oppenheimer & Co. banking analyst Meredith Whitney boosted her first-quarter loss forecast for the company.'
Lees verder: http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/26/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm
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