The major averages closed slightly lower on Monday, with financial stocks creating downward pressure after Wachovia reported an unexpected loss.
The Dow fell -23.36, the Nasdaq Composite -14.42 and the S&P 500 -4.51.
Wachovia (WB | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reported an unexpected loss of -$0.14 per share, versus estimates of $0.40. The fourth-largest U.S. bank plans to raise capital via a $7 billion stock sale and is cutting its dividend. WB shares lost 9% today.
Blockbuster (BBI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) made an unsolicited offer to buy Circuit City (CC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) for more than $1 billion in cash. BBI shares fell 9.9%, while CC shares surged 27.4%.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Delta Air Lines (DAL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) and Northwest Airlines (NWA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) will announce a merger, possibly as early as tomorrow. DAL gained 4.7% and NWA rose 2.4%.
Shares of W.W. Grainger (GWW | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) closed 2.2% higher after the company reported earnings that beat estimates by $0.07.
March retail sales rose 0.2%, surprising economists, however, on closer inspection the number was flat if gas sales are excluded.
| Economic
News |
Retail Sales (Mar): Actual 0.2%, Consensus 0.0%
Retail Sales ex-autos (Mar): Actual 0.1%, Consensus -0.1%
Business Inventories (Feb): Actual 0.6%, Consensus 0.6% |
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