Stocks made their biggest drop this year, as fears about the impact of a disorderly Greek bond default put Europe-crisis concerns on the back burner. European stocks also closed lower, adding to losses after Reuters reported that the Institute of International Finance had warned in a recent memo that a disorderly default could cause more than 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) in damage to the euro zone. Also, economic growth in the EU contracted 0.3% in the fourth quarter, compared with third-quarter growth of 0.1% in the eurozone and 0.3% in the EU. Concerns that too few private bondholders will participate in Greece’s bond swap which is set to conclude Thursday pressed on investors. Technology stocks closed in the red on a global-wide selloff. Hewlett-Packard and Dell were off 3.4% and 1.8%, respectively. Apple fell 0.5% ahead of a media event Wednesday where the company is expected to unveil a new version of the iPad. Qualcomm fell 0.9% after the co. upped its quarterly dividend by 16% and announced a $4 billion stock buyback. Implied volatility surged to the 18% level on huge trading volumes.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Dropped sharply on fears over Greece
Stocks made their biggest drop this year, as fears about the impact of a disorderly Greek bond default put Europe-crisis concerns on the back burner. European stocks also closed lower, adding to losses after Reuters reported that the Institute of International Finance had warned in a recent memo that a disorderly default could cause more than 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) in damage to the euro zone. Also, economic growth in the EU contracted 0.3% in the fourth quarter, compared with third-quarter growth of 0.1% in the eurozone and 0.3% in the EU. Concerns that too few private bondholders will participate in Greece’s bond swap which is set to conclude Thursday pressed on investors. Technology stocks closed in the red on a global-wide selloff. Hewlett-Packard and Dell were off 3.4% and 1.8%, respectively. Apple fell 0.5% ahead of a media event Wednesday where the company is expected to unveil a new version of the iPad. Qualcomm fell 0.9% after the co. upped its quarterly dividend by 16% and announced a $4 billion stock buyback. Implied volatility surged to the 18% level on huge trading volumes.
