Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
Coming off new record levels, the Dow Jones Industrials (^DJI 1.18%) initially posted further gains this morning after the European Central Bank cut rates to try to hasten the recovery of Europe's economy. But by 11 a.m. EST, the Dow had given up its gains and traded down 29 points. General Electric (GE 0.94%) posted a modest gain to help minimize the losses, but Disney (DIS 0.98%) and AT&T (T 0.05%) have weighed on the index.
Disney has fallen 1.9% despite making a new deal with Netflix (NFLX 2.35%) to produce new shows based on Disney's Marvel universe of characters. The project will include four characters -- Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist -- who aren't nearly as widely known as the more popular Iron Man and the Avengers, but Disney still hopes the deal will widen its audience. With Disney reporting earnings after the bell this afternoon, however, investors might be waiting to see its latest financials before deciding whether the stock will continue its long bull-market run.
AT&T has dropped 1.4%. The telecom giant could find itself more deeply involved in the controversy over electronic surveillance: Reports surfaced that AT&T is receiving $10 million from the Central Intelligence Agency in exchange for giving the CIA records of phone calls related to investigations of alleged terrorist activity. Even though AT&T keeps information about American callers private, the debate over privacy could put the phone giant into an unfavorable spotlight as political wrangling on the issue continues.
General Electric climbed 0.7% to touch another multiyear record this morning after analyst firm Oppenheimer raised its price target for the stock. The company announced an intriguing new technology this morning, as General Electric has looked at what it's calling "cold spray" additive manufacturing as a technique to facilitate repairs. Essentially, the process involves spraying metal powder in order to build new parts or to repair broken parts and extend their lifespans. The process could be a huge improvement over more labor-intensive methods like welding, and it shows the extent to which 3-D printing technology could revolutionize the industrial world.
