With no hard domestic economic news and little on the earnings front to focus on Monday, investors instead looked out across the Atlantic to Europe — in particular, to elections in Italy — and didn’t like what they saw.
Europe’s indices finished mixed, and Italian stocks were hammered, including a nearly 6% loss for the iShares MSCI Italy Index (NYSE:EWI) ETF. That late selling came back across the pond as all three major American indices followed last week’s losses with another round.
The net result were broad losses, with the S&P 500 sinking 1.83% to 1,487.85, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1.55% to 13,784.17, and the Nasdaq was trimmed by 1.44% to 3,116.25.
In corporate news, shares of Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) rose nearly 12% after Chairman Leonard Riggio said he plans to buy the company’s retail operations while leaving the Nook electronic book segment separate. Riggo’s SEC filing for the purchase did not include a price.
Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) shares continued to ride momentum from last week’s news that Nevada will allow real-money gambling over the Internet, rising more than 7% on the day.
On the earnings front, shares of content-to-print solutions provider 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) sank 9% after it reported quarterly results that were only slightly better than expected. It also executed a 3-for-2 stock split.
Meanwhile, home improvement retailer Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) reported lower sales and earnings that drove shares down just less than 5%. However, the results were slightly better than forecasts, and the company sweetened the news by unveiling a $5 billion share repurchase program.
Earnings notables for Tuesday include Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Macy’s (NYSE:M), and RadioShack (NYSE:RSH).
Three Up
- Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO): Up 5.7% (55 cents) to $10.16.
- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN): Up 3.1% ($2.73) to $89.55.
- Hertz Global (NYSE:HTZ): Up 1.7% (31 cents) to $19.04.
Three Down
- Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK): Down 6.8% ($1.39) to $19.11.
- Office Depot (NYSE:ODP): Down 6.7% (28 cents) to $3.93.
- Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR): Down 6% (52 cents) to $8.15.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing he does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
