LONDON (ShareCast) - The S&P 500 fell for the fifth day in a row as European debt problems continued to cast a shadow over Wall Street while US gross domestic product data was also underwhelming.

The S&P 500 fell 5 points to 1,188. The Dow-Jones industrial average shed 54 at 11,494 while the NASDAQ Composite lost 2 points at 2,521.

The US economy grew by just 2% in the third quarter, down from initial estimates of 2.5% growth, the Commerce Department said; economists had been expecting the government to revise their estimate down to 2.3%.

While this was still the fastest growth rate since the fourth quarter of last year market sentiment has still not been helped by the ongoing troubles surrounding the bipartisan ‘super-committee’.

As expected, the committee admitted on Monday that they have not agreed on a plan to cut the nation's deficit by $1.2trn. "Despite our inability to bridge the committee's significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation's fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve," according to a joint statement by Republican representative Jeb Hensarling and Democratic senator Patty Murray.

Nevertheless, both Standard & Poor's and Moody's reiterated their ratings on the US last night. Fitch Ratings, on the other hand, has decided to reserve judgement for now, although it also stated that a ratings downgrade is “unlikely.”

Meanwhile, over in Europe, bond yields on Spanish and Italian government debt were overheating, while French bond yields also ratcheted up as rumours swirled that debt rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's are ready to pull the trigger and shoot down the nation's AAA credit rating.

On the corporate front, Netflix was in focus after raising $400m to strengthen the balance sheet and to give it the firepower to increase spending on online rights for films and TV shows. The stock hit a new low for the year.

Hewlett-Packard (H-P) dropped after net profit fell 91% in the fourth quarter and the company reined in expectations for 2012. Meg Whitman, who took over as chief executive of H-P two months ago after taking time out from the corporate world to blow $144m of her own personal fortune on an unsuccessful attempt to defeat septuagenarian Jerry Brown for the post of Governor of California, said "we need to get back to the business fundamentals in fiscal 2012, including making prudent investments in the business and driving more consistent execution."

For the current quarter (fiscal first quarter of 2012), H-P expects earnings per share (EPS) to fall to between 83-86 cents, well under the $1.11 expected by the market. It also scaled back its full-year forecasts from $4.84 per share to $4.

Price increases at tinned food leviathan Campbell Soup were not enough to offset lower sales volumes in its soup and beverage businesses in the August to October quarter.

Net income in the three months to the end of October - the first quarter of the company's fiscal year - fell to $265m from $279m the year before.

Earnings per share were unchanged at 82 cents, and ahead of market expectations of 79 cents.

Women's fashion retailer Chico FAS announced a $200m stock buy-back programme as underlying third quarter earnings per share of 18 cents came in a couple of cents shy of expectations. Discount retailer Dollar Tree was another buying back shares, as it announced a deal to buy $300m of shares from US bank Wells Fargo.

Healthcare insurer United Health is to buy managed care provider XL Health for around $2bn.

MACRO-ECONOMY

The third quarter GDP estimate has been lowered to 2.0%, from 2.5% previously.

The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee#s November meeting revealed one member of the 10-person team, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, broke ranks with his colleagues and voted for the Federal Reserve to make further bond purchases.

Some members look as if they might be persuaded to adopt his point of view, as the minutes indicated a few members were of the opinion that the economic outlook “might warrant additional policy accommodation.”

OTHER MARKETS

10 year US treasuries reversed course to finish up on the day, driving down yields by four basis points to 1.92%.

Front month West Texas crude futures moved back above the $98 a barrel level in NYMEX trading, with the January contract closing at $98.01m, up $1.09 on the day.


S&P 500 - Risers
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $38.76 +6.89%
Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) $1.16 +5.45%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $113.50 +5.20%
Medtronic Inc. (MDT) $34.75 +4.45%

S&P 500 - Fallers
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $40.80 -6.27%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $70.45 -5.40%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $31.84 -5.27%
RadioShack Corp. (RSH) $11.04 -5.24%
Novellus Systems Inc. (NVLS) $32.29 -4.97%
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) $45.39 -4.70%
Marriott International Inc. (MAR) $28.87 -4.47%
Teradyne Inc. (TER) $12.30 -4.43%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $96.42 +0.79%
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $34.55 +0.73%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $9.26 -2.22%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $5.37 -2.19%
Boeing Co. (BA) $64.35 -1.85%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $29.41 -1.67%
General Electric Co. (GE) $14.99 -1.64%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $53.94 -1.50%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $38.76 +6.89%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $113.50 +5.20%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $15.08 +3.08%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $376.51 +2.03%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $40.80 -6.27%
Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) $28.37 -3.24%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $31.38 -3.15%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $10.57 -2.94%
Nll Holdings Inc. (NIHD) $22.04 -2.91%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $62.23 -2.83%
Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $16.87 -2.82%
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) $14.01 -2.57%
Joy Global Inc. (JOYG) $81.21 -2.51%

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