US stocks fall sharply after ECB inaction
Stocks traded near session lows Thursday after ECB President Mario Draghi's comments dashed hopes that the central banks would raise its bond purchases of debt-ridden euro zone nations and as investors remained on edge ahead of the EU summit.
罢丑别听Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 166 points around 1:30 p.m., led by听JPMorgan (down听4.5 percent) and听BofA (down 3.7 percent)听after听logging a third gain听in the previous session.
听罢丑别听S&P 500听and the听Nasdaq听also fell.听The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 30.
听All 10 S&P sectors were in negative territory, led by听financials听and听materials.
The European Central Bank's President Mario Draghi said he听didn't signal more bond purchases听last week in a press conference following an interest rate decision, implying that he has stepped back from the idea of aggressive bond buying from the ECB.
听Adding to woes, Draghi said the euro zone's outlook "remains subject to high uncertainty and substantial downside risks."
听鈥淲e were definitely caught off guard with how dramatically Mario Draghi walked back from what was clearly a statement in support of bond markets with respect to the ECB,鈥� said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG. 鈥淲ith so much focus on austerity, the structural reform element is arguably more important because no matter what happens, these economies and markets are going to suffer through a very difficult near term period鈥攖he question is how quickly and how effectively can you emerge from that period.鈥�
听The ECB听slashed its main interest rate听as the euro zone's worsening debt crisis outweighed the concern over persistently high inflation.
听The move came hours before a key EU summit which will aim to agree on a plan to defuse the crisis, with France and Germany pushing for rule changes to stricter budget discipline in the bloc.
鈥淲e鈥檙e being held hostage by Europe鈥攈eadlines can move us in a flash so people are not willing to go in until there's better clarity,鈥� said Kenny Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities. 鈥淢arket is trying to still hope that there鈥檚 going to be a pathway to a credible solution at the EU summit. If there鈥檚 no headway and the optimism doesn鈥檛 work out, the market is going to punish us very quickly.鈥�
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are set to meet in Marseilles, France where Sarkozy is due to make a speech at the congress of Europe鈥檚 center-right leaders.
He and Merkel are both due to hold bilateral meetings later with Spanish Prime Minister-elect Mariano Rajoy before they head to Brussels where EU leaders meet for dinner tonight and kick off the heavily-anticipated EU summit.
Meanwhile U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti to听lobby for action听on the euro zone's debt crisis ahead of the summit.
On the economic front, weekly claims for jobless benefits tumbled 23,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 381,000, according to the Labor Department, the听lowest in almost nine months. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast claims slipping to 395,000.
Meanwhile, wholesale inventories rose 1.6 percent in October,听posting its biggest gain in five months, according to the Commerce Department. Analysts had expected a gain of 0.3 percent, according to a Reuters poll.
And former听MF Global听chief John Corzine is slated to听appear before a congressional panel. MF Global collapsed in late October after making huge bets on European sovereign debt.听(CNBC.com is听.)
McDonald's听climbed to hit a new 52-week high after the fast-food giant posted听a听bigger-than-expected gain听in November same-store sales, helped by big gains in Asia and Europe. Rival听Yum Brands听edged higher, also hitting a new 52-week high.
Among earnings,听Costco听posted higher quarterly profit听in its first quarter. And听Smithfield Foods听reported results that topped estimates, thanks to strong exports.
Ford听pared sharp losses after the automaker听reinstated a dividend听of 5 cents a share, its first time in five years.
Meanwhile,听IBM听said it will acquire听DemandTec听for $13.20 a share in cash. The acquisition will help IBM boost its cloud-based service.
