Dow Falls 35 as Traders Take Profits
Stocks fell sharply today as traders took profits before the Thanksgiving holiday Thursday.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 35.15 points to end at 2,530.20, a fall of 1.4%.
In the broader market, losing issues outnumbered gainers by a 2-1 margin on active New York Stock Exchange volume of 161.17 million shares.
Traders ignored a rise in the Treasury bond market and a fall in oil prices, both of which normally encourage buying on Wall Street. Some might have been taking things easy with two days to go until Thanksgiving, while others might be selling stocks for end-of-the-year tax purposes, analysts said.
“I think it’s kind of consolidating its recent gains,” said Michael Metz, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. “It has no new strong stimulus here. I think people are going to make this a long holiday.”
Financial stocks took a hit today, with American Express down 1 at 20 5/8 an hour before the close, Federal National Mortgage down 7/8 at 31 3/4, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. down 1 5/8 at 38 1/8 and Citicorp down 5/8 at 12 7/8.
Among actively traded issues, Boeing Co. was down 4 3/8 at 42 7/8, after being downgraded by Goldman Sachs. McDonnell Douglas Corp. fell 1 1/4 to 50 1/4, United Technologies was down 7/8 at 44 3/4 and Lockheed was down 3/4 at 30 1/8.
