LONDON (ShareCast) - - House price data, Richmond Fed misses forecasts
- United Tech drives Dow to record close
- Markets await Apple results

Dow Jones: +0.14%
Nasdaq: -0.59% 
S&P 500: -0.19%

Disappointing economic data saw US markets mostly erase gains by the close of trade on Tuesday, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out minor gains to finish at another all-time high.

Upbeat results from United Technologies helped push the Dow to its 28th record close this year.

Home prices in the States continued to increase in May but at a worse-than-expected rate: the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house-price index rose by 0.7% during the month, slightly under the 0.8% increase estimated. April’s rise was also revised lower from 0.7% to 0.5%.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s measure of manufacturing activity came in well below forecasts: the index dropped from 7.0 in June to -11 this month, surprising those who had expected a small rise to 9.0.

The figures simply reinforced the fact that the Fed’s timeframe for ‘tapering’ quantitative easing still remains incredibly uncertain, given Chairman Ben Bernanke’s recent remarks that the impending phased withdrawal of stimulus remains conditional on incoming economic data.

United Tech was a high riser after saying that profits in the second quarter totalled $1.70 a share, beating the $1.57 forecast. While sales came in slightly under expectations, the firm narrowed its full-year guidance range, raising the lower end of its earnings per share target.

Insurance firm Travelers Cos headed the other way after its book value (assets minus liabilities) fell from $68 to $66.65 per share over the second quarter.

Chemical manufacturing group DuPont finished slightly lower after second-quarter earnings declined 12% on the back of falling sales from its performance chemicals operations. The company also said it was "exploring strategic alternatives" for the unit. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.28, slightly ahead of the $1.27 forecast, but net sales of $9.84bn, down 0.7%, missed the $10bn estimate.

McDonald's finished in the red again, extending losses made the day before after the company disappointed with its second-quarter results and said the outlook for the informal restaurant industry remained "challenging".

Tech giant Apple finished lower ahead of its quarterly results due out after the closing bell, as investors turned nervous about figures from the second-largest company by market capitalisation on the S&P 500 (second to Exxon Mobil). The gadget maker however beat forecasts with shares surging in after-hours trade.


S&P 500 - Risers
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $17.14 +5.02%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $19.08 +4.38%
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) $18.93 +4.13%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $38.93 +4.04%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $105.12 +2.95%
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) $29.99 +2.88%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $21.34 +2.84%
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) $100.65 +2.83%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $71.77 +2.76%
Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $59.49 +2.64%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $3.66 -6.15%
Waters Corp. (WAT) $99.17 -5.92%
Lorillard Inc. (LO) $44.08 -4.49%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $250.26 -4.47%
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $31.83 -4.27%
JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) $14.53 -4.09%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $42.81 -4.06%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $222.65 -3.89%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $82.21 -3.77%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $45.31 -3.23%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $105.12 +2.95%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $78.55 +0.87%
Boeing Co. (BA) $107.79 +0.87%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $25.73 +0.86%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $72.69 +0.71%
AT&T Inc. (T) $35.81 +0.65%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $194.98 +0.46%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $47.93 +0.44%
3M Co. (MMM) $116.75 +0.40%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $95.20 +0.39%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $82.21 -3.77%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $96.76 -0.84%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $25.56 -0.62%
General Electric Co. (GE) $24.71 -0.60%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $31.82 -0.59%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $85.52 -0.56%
American Express Co. (AXP) $74.41 -0.41%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $80.95 -0.33%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.75 -0.09%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $57.12 -0.09%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $38.93 +4.04%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $31.08 +1.24%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $48.38 +0.92%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $74.30 +0.91%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $119.10 +0.89%
Liberty Interactive Corp (LINTA) $24.54 +0.86%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $42.41 +0.78%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $29.84 +0.78%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $85.01 +0.76%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $40.01 +0.58%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $31.83 -4.27%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $42.81 -4.06%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $222.65 -3.89%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $268.34 -3.47%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $45.31 -3.23%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $67.83 -3.22%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $109.42 -3.00%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $53.83 -2.34%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $135.08 -2.17%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $106.62 -2.14%

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE