Blue-chip stocks are mixed in intraday trading following the release of disappointing housing data and downbeat quarterly results from McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) . With roughly an hour left in the trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) is up a negligible two points, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC ) is up by 0.2%.
The National Association of Realtors announced this morning that sales of previously occupied homes fell by 1.1% in June compared to May. On the flip side, the good news is that they were up by a double-digit percentage compared to the same month last year.
5 Best Stocks To Buy Right Now
As NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun noted: "Affordability conditions remain favorable in most of the country, and we're still dealing with a large pent-up demand. However, higher mortgage interest rates will bite into high-cost regions of California, Hawaii and the New York City metro area market."
Fast-food giant McDonald's further fueled pessimism by reporting lackluster financial results for the three months ended June 30. While the company increased its revenue and earnings on a year-over-year basis, the market's reaction to the results shows that investors were more concerned with its 0.2% decline in June same-store sales -- for the quarter overall, the worldwide figure rose by a mere 1%.
Shares of McDonald's are down by 2.5% at the time of writing, making it the worst-performing component on the Dow this afternoon.
On the other end of the spectrum, shares of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ ) are up by 1.6%, qualifying it for the day's best performance. Analysts at Wells Fargo said that fears over the company's exposure to the dying personal-computer industry are overdone, noting that the segment accounts for less than 10% of HP's net earnings. The megabank also noted that it expects HP's operating profit to pick up over the next fiscal year.
It's incredible how much our digital and technological lives are shaped by just a handful of companies. Find out "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?" in The Motley Fool's latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged by the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment