Investors were given an early Christmas present as U.S. equity markets bounced back last week. Reports from Europe continued to whipsaw global markets, but this time for the better. A successful debt auction in Spain was behind much of the week's optimism as bond buyers appeared to become more confident that the country will be able to meet its debt obligations. Meanwhile, in the U.S., economic data helped stoke the positive sentiment. Housing numbers largely came in better than expected, and initial unemployment claims continued to fall.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
The 3 Worst-Performing Sectors
Russell 3000 Sector |
Weekly Price Change |
Month-to-Date Price Change |
---|---|---|
Information Technology | 2.1% | (0.3%) |
Consumer Staples | 3.2% | 2.6% |
Telecommunications | 3.3% | 2.8% |
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Weekly price change is Dec. 16-Dec. 23. Monthly price change is Nov. 30-Dec. 23.
The health-care sector as a whole performed better than the broad market, but that didn't help Targacept
Alaska Communications
The 3 Worst-Performing Russell 3000 Companies
Company |
Weekly Price Change |
---|---|
Targacept | (29.5%) |
Alaska Communications | (26.7%) |
Primus Guaranty | (24.5%) |
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Weekly price change is Dec. 16-Dec. 23.
Also among the slumping stocks this week were Eastman Kodak
The $131 billion Oracle, meanwhile, saw its stock bathed in an unusual amount of red after the company reported quarterly results that were short of Wall Street's expectations. The tech behemoth missed earnings estimates by $0.03, which encouraged an 11% sell-off for the week.
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