New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down nearly 100 points on the market opening after disappointing data out of China and lingering concerns over the European debt crisis weighed on stocks.
The S&P 500 Index was off about 4 points and the NASDAQ was down by about 16 points.
A lackluster third quarter GDP report from China showing that Chinese economic growth fell to the second slowest pace since 2009 sent stocks down in pre-market trading. Investors were also still weighing comments made Monday from Germany that a quick resolution to the eurozone debt crisis is unlikely.
With earning season well under way, reports from banking giants Goldman Sachs and Bank of American were closely watched and scrutinized.
Goldman Sachs reported its only second-quarter loss as a public company. The investment banking firm lost $428 million in the third quarter as its investment portfolio fell and revenue from trading shrank. Since going public in 1999, the only other quarter in which Goldman reported a loss was in the third quarter of 2008 after Lehman Bros. went under.
Goldman’s third quarter revenue for 2011 was $3.6 billion, down 60 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Bank of America earned $6.29 billion in the third quarter following a large loss in the same quarter a year ago. The Charlotte, NC-based bank earned 57 cents a share. That is in comparison to the 77 cents per share, or $7.3 billion loss, the bank reported in the third quarter of 2010.
Shares of Goldman Sachs were trading up almost 2 percent at $98.52 in early trading, well off its 52-week high of 175.34. Shares of Bank of America climbed over 6 percent and were last quoted at $6.43.
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