The stock markets in the United States ended the week with another decline prompted by lower-than-expected corporate earnings and the decline of currencies in emerging markets. The S&P 500 is poised to experience its first three-week decline since 2012, according to Bloomberg.
Christian Stocker, senior strategist at UniCredit Bank AG in Minuch commented, “This week, we’ve seen synchronized volatility in the markets, with very weak currencies and disappointing Chinese manufacturing figures. We need an increase in earnings momentum to see stock prices to go higher.”
Bloomberg estimated that the value of equities worldwide dropped by approximately $1.8 trillion this month since the slowdown of the economy in China, and the Federal Reserve decided to further taper its monthly bond buying program.
Data from the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer confidence in January showed a decline from 82.5 in the previous month to 81.2.
A separate report showed that the consumer spending in the United States was higher-than-expected last December. The report indicated that home purchases, increased 0.4%. Home purchases represent 70% of the U.S. economy.
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)- 15,698.46 (-0.95%)
- S&P 500- 1,782.40 (-0.66%)
- NASDAQ- 4,101.83 (-0.66%)
- Russell 2000- 1,132.62 (-0.59%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,031.96 (-0.44%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,510.44 (-0.43%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 9,306.48 (-0.71%)
Asia Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 14,914.53 (-0.62%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 22,035.42 (-0.48%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 2,202.45 (-1.14%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock price of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) slumped 11% to $358.61 per share after the company warned that it might generate lower financial results for the current quarter. The e-commerce giant projected that it might deliver operating results in the range of $200 million losses to $200 million profit this quarter. Investors are also concernd with the spending habits of the e-commerce giant that might outweigh its potential revenue from its planned membership fee increase in Amazon Prime. Amazon.com plans to increase its Amazon Prime membership fee in the United States by $20 to $40.
Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT), the world’s largest toy maker, declined more than 12% to $37.04 per share after its CEO Bryan Stockton said the company failed to meet its growth expectation in 2013. The company reported a 6% decline in sales of $2.11 billion worldwide in the fourth quarter. Its earnings were $1.07 per share.
On the other hand, the stock price of Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) surged more than 23% to $4.39 per share despite announcing job cuts and its monthly active users is declining. The increase was primarily driven by its decision to acquire NaturalMotion for $527 million to accelerate its effort in developing mobile games to return to profitability.
