The markets traded modestly lower during the midday with the Dow slipping 10 points to 18,271. Nasdaq lost 6 points to 5,309.
German newspaper Handelsblatt reported that several German blue chip companies may offer financial assistance to Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank must pay fines of up to $14 billion to the U.S. Department of Justice for mortgage-backed securities that the bank sold. The German companies discussed purchasing shares of Deutsche Bank.
Bloomberg reported that Wal-Mart is refusing to pay a $600 million fine to settle bribery investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Wal-Mart is alleged to have paid bribes to government officials in Mexico, China and India in order to accelerate the process to open new stores.
The Mall of America, which is the largest mall in the nation with 520 stores, will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. The mall will open at 5am on the day after Thanksgiving for Black Friday shopping. Many retailers including Bed Bath & Beyond, Crate and Barrel, Marshalls, Pier 1 Imports, Staples and T.J. Maxx will also close on the holiday.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 added a point to 2,160. Bitcoin eased a fraction to $609.
