While you were sleeping: BusinessWire overnight wrap

Tuesday 6th January 2009

Stocks on Wall Street fell in late trading, led by declines in phone companies such as Verizon Communications and AT&T after Alliance Bernstein's research unit predicted a drop in wireless subscribers as the recession bites.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4% to 8908.61, having swung between gains and losses during the trading session. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.9% to 923.44 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8% to 1618.49. Verizon fell 7.9% to US$31.90, leading the Dow lower, and AT&T dropped 4.5% to US$28.10.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell 5% to US$29.77 amid concern loan defaults will continue to increase amid the economic slump.
Home Depot, the biggest U.S. home improvement chain, rose 2.9% to US$24.82 after Commerce Department figures showed U.S. construction spending fell less than expected in November. A pickup in commercial and government building projects countered a slump in the residential sector. Spending fell 0.6% in the month, less than half the drop predicted by economists.

Apple Inc gained 4.3% to US$94.66 after chief executive Steve Jobs said he intended to remain in charge of the company and that his recent weight loss was due to a hormone imbalance. The comments helped ease concern among investors that the inspiration behind the Apple Mac computer, iPod and iPhone would leave the company due to ill health.

General Motors led gainers on the Dow, rising 3.6% to US$3.78 after reporting a drop in sales that lagged behind some rivals. Ford rose 4.1% to US$2.56. GM reported a 31% drop in sales in December, the first monthly results since automakers received the first tranche of federal government aid. GM's sales fell 23% for 2008.

The slump in December sales was echoed at GM's rivals, indicating the U.S. economic slump has eroded demand as the credit squeeze makes it harder for consumers to borrow. Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales fell 32% last month while Toyota Motor's declined 37%. Honda's sales were down 35% and Nissan Motor's slid 31%.

Chevron Corp. gained 0.2% to US$76.70 as crude oil extended its advance to a three-week high amid concern conflict in the Gaza Strip has the potential to cause supply disruptions in the Middle East.

Oil for February delivery gained 4.2% to US$48.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price of crude also rose as OPEC members moved to make agreed production cuts. Meantime, Russia has reduced supplies of gas sent to Europe via pipelines across Ukraine, amid a price dispute between the neighbouring countries.

Helping pare the decline in U.S. stocks, President-elect Barack Obama is pushing for the speedy passage of his spending and tax cuts package to revive the world's biggest economy. Obama said the U.S. has "an extraordinary economic challenge ahead of us" and Americans can't wait for his inauguration on Jan. 20.

He made the comments at a media conference at the start of a meeting with Speaker of then House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

Separately, Obama chose Leon Panetta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, as head of the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Democratic officials.

Stocks in Europe rose as countries in the region such as Germany said they were considering tax cuts to help revive economic growth. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 2.1% to 208.69 and has gained more than 5% since the start of the year.

Nestle SA gained 1.9%. Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.2% to 4983.99, led by a 13% jump for Infineon and a 3.4% gain for Deutsche Telekom.

France's CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 3359.92 as EADS, which owns Airbus, rose 6.4%. Alcatel-Lucent rose 6.2%. In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to 4579.64 as Xstrata advanced 6.1%.

Gold for February delivery fell 2.9% to US$854.30 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper futures for March delivery fell 0.1% to US$1.459 a pound.

By Jonathan Underhill

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