LONDON (ShareCast) - - Wal-Mart shares on offer after disappointing sales numbers
- Computer box shifters Dell and Hewlett-Packard fail to impress
- US existing home sales below consensus forecast

US stocks closed slightly lower, bringing to an end their recent good run, with investors uneasy about developments in Greece while in the home front there was also an element of disappointment at the housing sales figures.

Corporate news was mixed. PC box shifter Dell dragged the NASDAQ Composite lower after it offered lower than expected sales guidance for the current quarter in a statement released after the bell on Tuesday evening. Dell's earnings for the three months to the end of January were a tad shy of market expectations, which also soured sentiment towards the stock.

In after-hours trade on Wednesday, Dell's rival, Hewlett-Packard (H-P) was under the cosh after quarterly revenue numbers failed to impress.

Clothes retailer TJX has announced a $1.3bn share repurchase programme, along with an increase in its dividend policy. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of 62 cents, a big jump from the 42 cents reported the year before, and bang in line with estimates.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, the world's largest retailer by sales, Wal-Mart was off the pace after its fourth quarter figures came up short of expectations. The market was looking for turnover of $30.7bn, it got a figure barely above $30.0bn.

Quarterly results out from house builder Toll Brothers and retailer Dollar Tree also underwhelmed the market.

Newspaper publisher Gannett, on the other hand, surged after announcing that it will more than double its quarterly dividend to 20 cents a share, from 8 cents before.

Oil drilling contractor Nabors Industries was wanted after fourth quarter sales and earnings both surprised to the upside. Sector peers Halliburton and National Oilwell Varco rose in sympathy.

By contrast, natural gas firm Cheseapeake Energy was on a lower setting after quarterly earnings announced late on Tuesday failed to fire the market with enthusiasm.


MACROECONOMY

Existing home sales rose to a 4.57m annualised rate in January (consensus: 4.66m). The previous month´s reading has been revised down to a 4.38m rate, from a previous estimate of 4.61m. Barclays Capital however believes that it is an “up beat” report, and highlights that “revisions to previous months were generally small and broadly offsetting.”

Like-for-like chain-store sales rose at a 3.0% week-on-week pace according to a survey from ICSC.

OTHER MARKETS

West Texas crude for April delivery edged up 3 cents to $106.28 a barrel in NYMEX trading.

10-year US Treasuries rose by half a dollar, with yields falling to 2.00% as a result.

S&P 500 - Risers
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $21.78 +6.97%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $60.92 +5.91%
Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI) $15.61 +4.21%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $58.80 +3.32%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $23.44 +3.26%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $38.23 +3.24%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $87.18 +3.07%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $36.88 -12.71%
Dell Inc. (DELL) $17.15 -5.82%
JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) $13.93 -4.62%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $40.45 -4.55%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $35.77 -4.33%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $112.40 -4.26%
Comerica Inc. (CMA) $29.49 -4.10%
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) $20.11 -4.06%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $115.81 +0.70%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $21.36 +0.66%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $69.25 +0.62%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $58.60 -2.45%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $7.95 -1.97%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $26.73 -1.58%
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $37.99 -1.50%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $28.94 -1.40%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $20.12 -1.18%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $38.07 -1.01%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $48.86 +9.33%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $60.92 +5.91%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $23.44 +3.26%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $29.33 +2.95%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $133.71 +2.35%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $52.08 +2.24%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Dell Inc. (DELL) $17.15 -5.82%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $40.45 -4.55%
Logitech International S.A. (LOGI) $8.61 -3.37%
Nll Holdings Inc. (NIHD) $23.51 -2.77%

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