Weakening prospects of QE3, rising yields on Spanish and Italian bonds and a disappointing private-sector jobs report from ADP all came together to give the markets a drubbing on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 dropped just more than 1% for the day to fall below 1,400, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average making a similar decline and the Nasdaq shedding 1.5%.
Financial stocks here and abroad led the plummet. Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) dropped well more than 3%, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) fell about 3% and JPMorgan Chase was down by more than 2%. Foreign banks also were on the dip, including Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB, -4%) Banco Santander (NYSE:STD, -2.6%), Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE:RBS, -2.36%).
Oil prices also dropped by almost $2 per barrel, and several energy stocks joined suit. BP (NYSE:BP) and Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) fell more than 2%, while Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.B), Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) down 1% or more.
Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) made a move to cut costs, slashing 2,000 workers, or about 14% of its 14,000-member work force. However, the move was met with indifference from investors, who bumped YHOO shares up less than 1%. The Internet company’s stock has fallen more than 50% over the past five years, never recovering much after the financial crisis, and is down more than 5% year-to-date despite a rallying market.
Burger King announced its intentions to go public yet again, with the IPO involving a merger with an investment holding company in London, which then will list on the New York Stock Exchange. Burger King previously went private in 2002 before returning to publicly traded life in 2006, then went private again in 2010. Last year, the company fell to third in sales among U.S. burger joints, yielding second place to Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN).
Three Up
- DangDang (NASDAQ:DANG): Up 6.3% (55 cents) to $9.22.
- American International Group (NYSE:AIG): Up 5.3% ($1.65) to $32.52.
- Polypore International (NYSE:PPO): Up 4.3% ($1.53) to $37.03.
Three Down
- Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK): Down 11.1% ($5.54) to $44.51.
- WebMD (NASDAQ:WBMD): Down 9.4% ($2.42) to $23.29.
- Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV): Down 8.5% (20 cents) to $2.15.
Kyle Woodley is the assistant editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out recaps from previous trading days here.
