Investors encouraged by a report on the continued uptick in U.S. auto sales, and another solid report out of the manufacturing sector sent markets higher early Tuesday, but turned south in the afternoon amid concerns about Egypt’s internal troubles.
News reports after 1 p.m. EST indicated that President Mohammed Morsi was being threatened to resolve issues with his political opponents by Wednesday, or the Egyptian military would suspend the country’s constitution, end the legislature and set up a new interim government.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw the biggest slide, ending down 0.28% to 14932.41. The S&P 500 slipped 0.05% to close at 1614.18, while the Nasdaq ended marginally lower at 3433.40.
New factory orders rose for a second straight month, increasing 2.1% in May, ahead of estimates of 2%. Auto sales also improved, with Ford (F), Chrysler and Volkswagen (VLKAY) all showing improved June 2013 sales compared to a year ago. Ford shares moved higher over 2% on the news.
Social game-maker Zynga (ZNGA) rose another 6% Tuesday on top of Monday’s 10% in reaction to news that ex-Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox head Don Mattrick would be replacing outgoing CEO Mark Pincus.
Shares of struggling wireless device manufacturer Blackberry (BBRY) continued to tumble, falling 5% after Credit Suisse became the latest analyst to downgrade BBRY amid its poor earnings showing. CS set a price target of $9 on the stock.
Lastly, global information and measurement provider Nielsen (NLSN) rose more than 2% after being tapped to replace Sprint (S) in the S&P 500.
Three Up
- Noodles & Company (NDLS): Up 22.7% ($8.73) to $47.52. (Read more here)
- U.S. Steel (X): Up 8.3% ($1.48) to $19.25.
- Novavax (NVAX): Up 6.6% (14 cents) to $2.25.
Three Down
- Linn Energy (LINE): Down 18.2% ($6.74) to $27.05. (Read more here)
- Iamgold (IAG): Down 8.6% (38 cents) t0 $4.03.
- Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR): Down 5.9% ($4.53) to $72.61.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he was long AAPL and MSFT.
