Nasdaq falls 1 pct as Micron, Intel weigh

June 26, 2015

Reuters

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York
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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York June 25, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

By Sweta Singh

REUTERS – The Nasdaq Composite fell 1 percent in afternoon trading on Friday after weak forecast from Micron Technology dragged down chipmakers including Intel.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, was lifted by Nike’s raised sales forecast and better-than-expected U.S. consumer sentiment data.

Investors are also keeping a close watch on the progress of Greece’s negotiations with its creditors. Greece rejected a five-month extension of bailout on Friday.

Euro zone finance ministers will meet on Saturday to decide Greece’s fate.

“For most part we are trading off any news that comes out of Greece. I am looking for an agreement that falls somewhere in between full compliance and default,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago.

University of Michigan’s final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment for June was 96.1, higher than its preliminary reading of 94.6.

“Investors are really craving healthy economic data. Any kind of incoming data that is stronger than expected is welcomed by the investor community,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.

The annual shuffling of Russell stock indexes may produce a rush of transactions worth over $40 billion in the final moments of trading on Friday.

At 13:24 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones industrial average was up 10.81 points, or 0.06 percent, at 17,901.17, the S&P 500 was down 6.92 points, or 0.33 percent, at 2,095.39 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 51.33 points, or 1 percent, at 5,060.86.

Five of the 10 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, with information technology leading the decliners with a 1.1 percent fall.

Nike shares rose 4.6 percent to $110.02, and was the biggest boost to the Dow, after the world’s largest footwear maker reported a better-than-expected profit as it sold more high-margin shoes and apparel at higher prices.

Finish Line shares rose 4.6 percent to $28.22 after the athletic shoes and apparel retailer reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue.

Micron Technology shares were down 19 percent at $19.56 after the chipmaker said it expects a further decline in prices of chips used in personal computers, and forecast revenue for the current quarter well below market estimates.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,901 to 1,116, for a 1.70-to-1 ratio on the downside. On the Nasdaq, 1,827 issues fell and 870 advanced for a 2.10-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The S&P 500 index showed 15 new 52-week highs and 20 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 108 new highs and 42 new lows.

(Editing by Don Sebastian)

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