Stocks Opened Lower on technology Weakness

Stocks opened lower on Wednesday as investors digested the latest round of earnings, including reports from IBM and Intel. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately retreated 46.88 points to 13,068.66, with Intel and IBM down the most among its 30 components. The S&P 500 shed 2.61 points to 1,388.17. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.85 points to 3,040.97.

IBM Corp. on Tuesday reported a fiscal first-quarter profit of $3.1 billion, or $2.61 a share, on revenue of $24.7 billion, compared with earnings of $2.86 billion, or $2.31 a share, on $24.6 billion in sales in the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items, IBM would have earned $3.3 billion, or $2.78 a share.

Intel Corp. on Tuesday reported a dip in profit, but posted results that easily beat Wall Street’s expectations. Intel reported a profit of $2.74 billion, or 53 cents a share, compared with $3.16 billion or 56 cents a share in the year-earlier period. Revenue was $12.91 billion, up from $12.85 billion. Adjusted profit was 56 cents a share.

Aubrey McClendon, the CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp, has borrowed as much as $1.1 billion over the last three years against his stake in thousands of company wells – a move that analysts, academics and attorneys who reviewed loan documents say raises the potential for conflicts of interest.

Halliburton Co. said Wednesday its first-quarter profit increased 22.7 percent as the oil industry aggressively searched for new oil fields in North America. The Houston oil services firm reported net income of $627 million, or 68 cents per share, for the first three months of the year. That compares with $511 million, or 56 cents per share, for the same part of 2011. Revenue increased by 30 percent to $6.87 billion. Revenue in North America was a record $4.17 billion.

About the Author

has written 15907 stories on this site.

Write a Comment

Gravatars are small images that can show your personality. You can get your gravatar for free today!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Copyright © 2012 Nine Stocks