Stocks finished mostly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average extending its record rise. ADP private-sector jobs rose by 198,000 in February, exceeding expectations; the January data were also revised higher. Meanwhile, U.S. factory orders in January declined by the most in five months, hit by weak appetite for military hardware and commercial aircraft. Dell gained 1.8% following a report that investor activist Car Icahn has taken nearly 100 million of the company’s shares. Apple lost 1.3% after Citigroup and Barclays Capital both cut their price targets on the stock, citing projections for lower iPhone and iPad sales in the March quarter. Groupon fell 6.0% a day after CFO Jason Child told a tech conference that the company wasn’t planning on any major changes in strategy as it searches for a new CEO. Microsoft slid 0.90% after the European Union fined the co. $733 million for failing to offer consumers a choice of Web browser with new versions of the Windows operating system.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Dow extended record rise
Stocks finished mostly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average extending its record rise. ADP private-sector jobs rose by 198,000 in February, exceeding expectations; the January data were also revised higher. Meanwhile, U.S. factory orders in January declined by the most in five months, hit by weak appetite for military hardware and commercial aircraft. Dell gained 1.8% following a report that investor activist Car Icahn has taken nearly 100 million of the company’s shares. Apple lost 1.3% after Citigroup and Barclays Capital both cut their price targets on the stock, citing projections for lower iPhone and iPad sales in the March quarter. Groupon fell 6.0% a day after CFO Jason Child told a tech conference that the company wasn’t planning on any major changes in strategy as it searches for a new CEO. Microsoft slid 0.90% after the European Union fined the co. $733 million for failing to offer consumers a choice of Web browser with new versions of the Windows operating system.
