Stocks finished the day mixed as investors mulled Spain’s prospects for a bailout request and credit-rating downgrade. Reuters, citing unnamed European officials, reported that Spain was prepared to seek a full bailout but that Germany was urging Madrid to hold off. Reuters also reported that Moody’s Investors Service will announce the results of its review of Spain’s sovereign debt rating this month. However, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he does not plan to ask for a bailout this weekend. Also, investors started to worry that corporate earnings will come worse than expected. U.S. home prices rose 0.3% in August, taking the year-on-year rise to 4.6%. September sales for U.S. auto makers were mixed, with Ford sales virtually unchanged for the month, while Toyota’s sales surged. MetroPCS Communications and Leap Wireless surged on deal speculation, leading gains for the tech sector. MetroPCS surged 18% after Bloomberg News reported that the co. was “nearing a deal” with T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom. MetroPCS confirmed the talks later in the day. Juniper dipped 0.24% after the co. confirmed plans to lay off about 500 employees, or about 5% of its workforce, in a cost-cutting move. Cisco shed 0.16% after MKM Partners upgraded its rating to buy, noting that “year-over-year product order rate is accelerating.” Apple closed 0.3%, reversing from early losses, as Google’s Motorola Mobility has withdrawn a patent-infringement claim against Apple, and a judge ruled that Samsung should be allowed to sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the U.S. market.
