💾 Archived View for gmi.noulin.net › mobileNews › 2821.gmi captured on 2023-09-08 at 18:25:56. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2023-01-29)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
2011-01-28 20:33:44
By DAVID K. RANDALL, AP Business Writer David K. Randall, Ap Business Writer
20 mins ago
NEW YORK Escalating protests in Egypt jarred world financial markets Friday.
Stocks fell while the dollar, Treasurys and gold rose as investors sought to
reduce their exposure to risk.
The Egyptian government's response to escalating street protests unnerved
investors. The military was deployed in an effort to restore order and the
headquarters of the ruling party was on fire. Thousands of people defied a
curfew, and Internet and cell phone service has been cut off.
Earlier, riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and used water cannons to
disperse crowds that had gathered in the largest challenge to Egyptian
president Hosni Mubarak's thirty-year rule. Investors have been concerned that
the collapse of the Tunisian government Jan. 14 could lead to challenges to
other authoritarian governments in the Middle East.
"The safety trade is back," said Jeffrey Frankel, president of broker Stuart
Frankel & Co. "Gold is up. Oil is up. Anything related to overseas is getting
hit."
Prices of Treasury bonds, considered one of the safest assets, rose sharply.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.32 percent from 3.38
percent late Thursday. Bond yields fall when their prices rise.
The dollar rose 0.6 percent against an index of six other currencies as
investors sought safety. Gold rose 1.6 percent to $1,339.50 and crude oil rose
4.4 percent to $89.42 a barrel.
The Egyptian stock market was closed for a holiday. It fell 10.5 percent
Thursday.
The MSCI World Market index, the broadest measure of the world's stock markets,
slumped 1.3 percent.
"Traders are watching this flare-up in the Middle East and using it as a reason
to take profits," said Doug Godine, managing director at Signal Hill, an
investment bank. Prior to this week, the Dow Jones industrial average had been
up for eight straight weeks.
Disappointing earnings reports also helped send stocks lower. Ford Motor Co
sank 12 percent after its earnings fell short of Wall Street's projections.
Amazon.com Inc. fell 8.5 percent after reporting that higher costs cut down its
profit margins. Microsoft Corp. lost 4 percent after it said that the
profitability of its Windows division was falling.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 138 points, or 1.2 percent, to 11,852 in
afternoon trading.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 18, or 1.4 percent, to 1,281. All 10
company groups that make up the S&P index fell.
The Nasdaq composite index fell 61, or 2.2 percent, to 2,694. The index was not
updated nearly an hour after the market opened due to technical problems.
A lower than expected report on the U.S. economy helped lead to a market
sell-off as well. The Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic
product grew at an annual rate of 3.2 percent between October and December.
That was below the 3.5 percent that analysts had forecast.
Sara Lee Corp. fell 2.2 percent after announcing a plan to split into two
companies. One, a food and retail business, will keep the Sara Lee name and
also operate the Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farms businesses. The other, which
has yet to be named, will hold the current company's beverages and baked goods
lines. The company had considered selling the whole business but was unable to
get a satisfactory price for it.