The markets opened lower on disappointing corporate earnings news. The Dow lost 70 points to 12,898 while Nasdaq fell 9 points to 2455.
On the upside
Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) posted a $2.2 billion quarterly loss and lowered its dividend due to the weak housing market. However, a reduction in the capital surplus cushion set by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight was viewed favorably by analysts.Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) posted a profit for the 1st quarter when gold prices soared to all-time highs. A rally in the stock price was minimized by a decline in overall gold production.
Shares of Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) edged up on hopes that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) may come back to the table with a $33 a share offer.
On the downside
Asphalt and concrete supplier Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC) lowered its outlook due to prolonged weakness in the residential construction market.
UBS (NYSE: UBS) cut 5500 jobs as the Swiss bank dumped its subprime portfolio.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin
of 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 4 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell
2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped 3 points to 720
