Traders-Blog.com

U.S. stocks dropped today due to an increased awareness of oil prices. Investors think that growth will slow down as a consequence of high oil prices. The Dow fell 123.60 points, to close at 10,297.84. Besides, the Nasdaq fell 17.39 points, to close at 2,053.27. Also, the S&P closed at 1,191.57, after falling 9.16 points. In general, all major indexes fell during this week.

Among Dow components, Alcoa fell 2.7 percent, to close at $26.46, after the aluminum producer announced that it would take a second-quarter charge of 25 cents to 28 cents per share. The company also said that it will cut another 6,500 employees from its global payroll over the next year, in addition to 1,800 job cuts from the first quarter. To cover the firm’s costs, there will also be plant closings and consolidation efforts. This means that Alcoa would take a charge of $220 million to $250 million, against second-quarter earnings.

There was a second case of mad-cow disease today, after the U.K. lab found evidences of a brain-wasting livestock disease in a sample taken in November from an animal that never entered the food supply. According to the Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, the U.S. will add a second level of testing for any samples with inconclusive results in the government’s screening program. After the news, cattle futures for August delivery fell 0.1 percent, to close at 79.875 cents a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Also, shares of Tyson Foods Inc., the world’s largest beef packer, fell 10 cents to close at $18 in New York Stock Exchange Composite trading. But, the new mad cow disease might not have a great effect on Americans’ habits of eating beef, since “Americans like to eat beef.”

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter