Stock Market Wrapup Aug. 27th
Stocks drifted lower after data showed continued softness in the housing market, with investors once again hesitant to bid up stocks following Friday's strong rally. The Dow erased -57 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 lost -15 and -13 points, respectively. Oil rose 95 cents to finish the session at $72.04.
The National Association of Realtors reported today that sales of previously owned homes in July fell the most in more than five years. The glut of unsold homes also climbed the most since 1991. The group reported that purchases declined -0.2% to an annual rate of 5.75 million homes. Inventories, meanwhile, were the equivalent of 9.2 months of supply. Sales dropped -9% and the median household value fell -0.6% to $228,900. The supply of homes for sale at the end of the month climbed 5.1% to 4.59 million.
On the political landscape, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned from his post amid what has been a tenure marked by a political fight over the firings of federal prosecutors. He is expected to officially leave his post on September 17th.
On the M&A front, Home Depot (NYSE: HD - News) agreed to sell its HD Supply business to private equity for $8.5 billion, an -18% reduction in price offered at the onset of the deal. The financers that were part of the deal were looking for price cuts as the credit markets have recently gotten more difficult to navigate. Shares rose 1.6%.
Also in deal news, Taiwan based Acer agreed to buy computer maker Gateway Computer (NYSE: GTW - News) for $710 million, or $1.90 a share, a 57% premium to Gateway's closing price on Friday. The combined company would overtake Lenovo (OTC: LNVGY - News) as the third-largest maker of computers. United States Steel (NYSE: X - News) agreed to buy Canadian based Stelco for $1.1 billion in an effort to bolster its position in the flat iron steel market. U.S. Steel shares fell -0.4% on the session.
Shares of Altria Group (NYSE: MO - News), meanwhile, rose 1.3% after a Citigroup analyst predicted the tobacco company would announce the spin-off its international unit at a meeting on Wednesday. The move has been speculated upon for quite some time. Subscribers can read our analysis of Altria in today's issue.
By the BullMarket.com Staff
The National Association of Realtors reported today that sales of previously owned homes in July fell the most in more than five years. The glut of unsold homes also climbed the most since 1991. The group reported that purchases declined -0.2% to an annual rate of 5.75 million homes. Inventories, meanwhile, were the equivalent of 9.2 months of supply. Sales dropped -9% and the median household value fell -0.6% to $228,900. The supply of homes for sale at the end of the month climbed 5.1% to 4.59 million.
On the political landscape, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned from his post amid what has been a tenure marked by a political fight over the firings of federal prosecutors. He is expected to officially leave his post on September 17th.
On the M&A front, Home Depot (NYSE: HD - News) agreed to sell its HD Supply business to private equity for $8.5 billion, an -18% reduction in price offered at the onset of the deal. The financers that were part of the deal were looking for price cuts as the credit markets have recently gotten more difficult to navigate. Shares rose 1.6%.
Also in deal news, Taiwan based Acer agreed to buy computer maker Gateway Computer (NYSE: GTW - News) for $710 million, or $1.90 a share, a 57% premium to Gateway's closing price on Friday. The combined company would overtake Lenovo (OTC: LNVGY - News) as the third-largest maker of computers. United States Steel (NYSE: X - News) agreed to buy Canadian based Stelco for $1.1 billion in an effort to bolster its position in the flat iron steel market. U.S. Steel shares fell -0.4% on the session.
Shares of Altria Group (NYSE: MO - News), meanwhile, rose 1.3% after a Citigroup analyst predicted the tobacco company would announce the spin-off its international unit at a meeting on Wednesday. The move has been speculated upon for quite some time. Subscribers can read our analysis of Altria in today's issue.
By the BullMarket.com Staff
posted by Stock Administrator @ 6:23 PM
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