[B][U]US Session Key Developments[/U][/B]
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[li][B]Bank of America, Citigroup Effectively Fail Stress Tests[/B] [/li][li][B]Microsoft, Verizon May Join to Create iPhone Rival[/B] [/li][li][B]Commodities Slump with Copper Down 3.7%[/B] [/li][/ul]
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[B]A Mostly Flat Day Sees Stocks Capitulate to Selling[/B]
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Stocks finished the day down after trading just slightly above par for most of the day. Bank of America and Citigroup effectively failed their stress tests, reports showed. Treasury officials asked the two institutions that they are required to raise additional capital if it hopes to be set free of the TALF stipulations set forth after receiving aid from the government program. Despite this news, stocks reacted mixed. A diverse trading day saw 6 of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 finish higher, with Telecommunications leading the way after rising 1.20%. The sector rose after rumors surfaced that Microsoft and Verizon are in joint talks to create an cell phone that would rival Apple’s iPhone. Interestingly, on the technology front, a Club Vivanet, a debit-card company, saw its share price double after changing its name ot Medical Marijuana Inc. Commodities mainly slumped today with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipping 1.18% to $49.33 and 3 month copper plummeting 3.68% to $4185 per ton
[B]Dow 30 8016.95 -8.05 -0.10%[/B][B][/B]
Dow stocks saw a mixed day with just about half of the 30 stocks in the index finishing on either side of the fence. Bank of America saw 56.88 million of its shares traded on the stress-test news. Microsoft was the second-most volumous stock with 27 million of the tech company’s shares being traded.
[B]SPX 500 855.16 -2.35 -0.27%[/B]
Despite falling at the end of the day, the implied volatility on the index fell slightly, by nearly 1.0%. As noted above, 6 of its 10 sectors finished ahead with Telecommunications leading the pact. Financials performed the worst, slipping 1.83% on the the stress-test news.
[B]NAS 100 1673.81 -5.60 -0.33%[/B]
Tech stocks slumped 0.82% as semiconductorsas Intel and Broadcom fell 1.5% and 5%, respectively. The San Diego, CA-based chip maker dropped dramtically after speculation that it would lose its intellectual property case in Europe against Qualcomm Inc, the world’s largest mobile-phone chip maker.
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