US markets slip as Intel, IBM results disappoint

19 Apr 2012 Evaluate

The US markets edged lower on Wednesday, retreating a day after the S&P 500 Index tallied its largest jump in a month, as investors found results from tech bellwethers IBM Corp. and Intel Corp lower than expectation. The semiconductor maker Intel projected second-quarter gross margins below some estimates, while IBM reported quarterly profit that topped expectations but fell short on revenue targets. The two technology majors are seeking growth in emerging markets while coping with a slowdown triggered by the European debt crisis. The markets unease also heightened by the partisan battles in Washington along with Europe’s debt troubles, lately illustrated by rising Spanish bond yields.

In Europe, Spanish stocks were again at the heart of losses for European markets, as the country’s banks dropped on news of a sharp rise in bad loans. Spanish bonds pared gains, pushing yields on 10-year debt to 5.82 percent from 5.72 percent earlier. The nation’s non-performing loans as a proportion of total lending jumped to 8.16 percent in February, the highest level since 1994, from less than 1 percent in 2007. Investors were also worried after a report from IMF that highlighted balance sheet contraction at European banks in the next eighteen months could destabilize markets. In its latest report multilateral agency stated that 58 largest banks are set to trim its asset by €2 trillion in the next eighteen months almost 7% of their assets by the end of next year. IMF anticipates deleveraging process driven by securities sales and the sale of non-core assets but also estimated credit contraction by 1.7%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 82.79 points, or 0.63 percent, at 13,032.80. The S&P 500 lost 5.64 points, or 0.41 percent, at 1,385.14, while the Nasdaq was down by 11.37 points, or 0.37 percent, at 3,031.45.

Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Wednesday, ICICI Bank was down 0.84%, HDFC Bank was down 0.81% and Infosys Technologies was down 0.73%. On the flip side, Tata Motors was up 0.48% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.24%.

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