Stocks Retreat for Second Straight Day Amid Profit Taking and Economic Data

Stocks declined for a second consecutive day as the market succumbed to further profit taking, despite IBM recovering from an initial sell-off due to disappointing earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.45 points to 3,895.34, its biggest one-day loss since the year began, while the New York Stock Exchange composite index eased 0.62 to 261.13.

Key Takeaways:

• The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.45 points to 3,895.34, its biggest one-day loss since the year began.
• IBM's stock eased to 58 despite reporting fourth-quarter earnings of 62 cents a share, compared to a loss of $9.57 a year ago.
• Blue-chip cyclical issues, such as Bethlehem Steel and Caterpillar, dropped due to profit taking.
• The New York Stock Exchange composite index eased 0.62 to 261.13, while Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 1.05 to 470.92.
• The price of an average share lost 9 cents.
• Declines topped advances 1,179-865 among the 2,696 issues crossing the NYSE tape.

Statistics:

• The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.69 points on Monday.
• IBM's stock slipped as low as 55 before recovering late in the session.
• The yield on the bellwether 30-year Treasury bond was 6.34 percent.
• The dollar changed hands at 1.7495 German marks and 111.01 Japanese yen, down from 1.7505 marks and 111.70 yen late Monday.
• Volume of NYSE-listed issues rose to 397,529,750 shares, compared with 369,612,570 traded in the previous session.

Sources:

• Neue Zürcher Zeitung
• The Wall Street Journal
• Institute for Supply Management
• Bloomberg News
• Reuters
• AP
• Business Wire
• Associated Press