Why the Dow Fell Today (^DJI)

Why the Dow Fell Today

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI ) was up in early trading, as high as 12,841, but it fell in the afternoon as unexpectedly weak new-home sales figures were reported for December.

Index	Change	Ending Value
Dow Jones Industrial Average	-22.03 [-0.18%]	12,734
S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC )	-7.6 [-0.57%]	1,318.45

The markets began falling after the Commerce Department announced at 10 a.m. that sales of new homes fell 0.2% in December. For 2011, new-home sales fell 6.2% to 302,000, the lowest level since data began being collected in 1963.

Earnings also played a role in the Dow's decline. AT&T (NYSE: T ) was the biggest mover of the day, down 2.52% to $29.45, after it reported a $6.7 billion loss, or $1.12 per share. Analysts expected earnings of $0.42. Earnings were hit by the breakup fee with T-Mobile, iPhone subsidy expenses, asset impairments, and an actuarial loss on benefit plans. Revenue was $32.5 billion, slightly above analyst expectations of $32 billion.

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