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Lately, the stock market hasn't seemed to make a whole lot of sense. With economic pressures facing regions around the world, you'd think bears would be ruling the day. But market participants are on the lookout for bailouts from various governments, and today, a report saying central banks were ready to take coordinated action after this weekend's Greek elections triggered huge buying from those hopeful for yet another dose of liquidity. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrials (INDEX: ^DJI ) posted a 155-point gain.
The big rally pulled up 28 of the Dow's 30 stocks. Left behind was Boeing (NYSE: BA ) , which fell about 0.3%. One reason investors are concerned about Boeing is that past delays in its 787 Dreamliner aircraft have led to a lack of confidence about the aerospace company's ability to meet the huge demand for the new plane. Today, supplier Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL ) said it doesn't expect the Dreamliner to become a meaningful part of its financial picture for at least two years because of Boeing's delays. If Boeing can't start delivering the goods, then today's tiny drop could be the tip of the iceberg.
The other loser was American Express (NYSE: AXP ) , which fell just a few cents today. Even as other financial stocks in the Dow soared, AmEx missed out, perhaps because it has a much different profile from regular banks. For AmEx, dollar volume of transaction activity is arguably the most important component of its success, especially as it starts to tap into newer electronic-payment technology. Even if central banks move to support the financial system, it won't necessarily stop the general public from scaring itself into spending less -- potentially hurting AmEx's results along the way.
Outside the Dow, Nokia (NYSE: NOK ) fell another 15% today after the company announced massive layoffs of up to 10,000 jobs globally by the end of next year, along with poorer guidance looking forward. Nokia has been struggling badly, and today's further declines have huge implications for partner and Dow component Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT ) , which has hoped that Nokia could help it make up lost ground in the smartphone space.
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