After a heated start to the year that saw major indices reach five-year highs, a two day losing streak has shaved off more than 150 points from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.69%), sparking speculation that we may be seeing the beginning of a more dramatic correction. The Dow stumbled 46 points today, or 0.34%, to close at 13,880.
One company that didn't get the bearish memo today was Hewlett-Packard (HPQ -0.11%), which added 2.4% during the day before surging more than 6% after hours, following first quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations. Despite a sixth straight quarter of declining year-over-year revenue, the 6% fall in sales in the most recent quarter actually demonstrated that HP's turnaround efforts may be starting to take effect.
Bank of America (BAC 1.70%), on the other hand, fell 3.2% for a second consecutive day, to rank as the worst performing blue chip stock. The catalyst was the same that played a role in the broader market's sluggishness: the Federal Reserve minutes from January that have investors worried about the future of quantitative easing measures.
Outside of the Dow, shares of Texas Instruments (TXN 1.25%) went the same way as most other semiconductor companies on the day, falling 1.75%. Of the 24 groups in the S&P 500 Index, the semiconductor group had the worst showing Thursday. The tables may turn with TI shares tomorrow, as the company hiked its dividend by 33%, and also authorized a further $5 billion worth of share buybacks this afternoon.
3D Systems (DDD 0.57%), one of the hottest stocks in the market over the last few years, continued its recent steep pullback Thursday, falling more than 8%, to close more than 23% below its 52-week highs. Seeing trading volume more than 70% higher than normal, investors are taking profits – and there are plenty to be had for long-term shareholders – before the company reports earnings on Monday.
