Traders-Blog.com

U.S. stocks finished session mixed after Morgan Stanley presented disappointing earnings. The Dow fell 11.74 points, to close at 10,587. However, the Nasdaq rose 0.96 points, to close at 2,092. Besides, the S&P closed at 1,213 after rising 0.27 points. Rising energy prices are a major concern in the current economy.

Among Dow components, General Motors Corp. was the biggest percentage decliner. It was down 3 percent due to profit warnings. Also, shares of Ford fell 4.4 percent to close at $10.68. According to Morgan Stanley’s analyst Stephen Girsky, “Ford’s challenges could get worse in 2006 due to an aging F-series (roughly 30 percent of volume) that is exposed to new products from GM and Toyota.” Currently, Ford’s immediate future focuses primarily on cars like the 2006 Ford Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr and Mercury Milan, which will replace the Taurus and Sable this coming fall.

Boeing Co. announced that it is planning to record a $100 million loss associated with a sale of commercial aircraft operations in Kansas and Oklahoma to Canadian firm Onex Corp. The company Onex paid $900 million in cash as part of the February deal, which still maintains supply relationships with Boeing. Its stocks finished session high at $63.13, after rising 0.6 percent.

Morgan Stanley reported that its second-quarter net income fell 24 percent from last year’s level due to legal costs in respect to Parmalat settlement. Its shares fell 0.9 percent, to close at $50.52. The results for Morgan Stanley included net expenses of about $140 million related to various legal matters that, of course, include the Parmalat’s case.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter