Markets Close Lower Over European Debt Concerns
The Federal Reserve lifted its growth forecast for the economy but the markets closed lower over continued concerns about European debt. The Dow dropped 66 points to 10,444 while Nasdaq fell 18 points to 2298.
On the upside
US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) chief executive Doug Parker reassured investors that the airliner was on firm financial footing and does not need to merge in order to survive.
First quarter earnings for Global Sources (Nasdaq: GSOL) more than doubled as the company cut costs.
DHT Holdings (NYSE: DHT) swung to a greater than expected loss but investors welcomed the announcement of a dividend of 10 cents per share payable on June 8, 2010 to shareholders of record May 31, 2010.
On the downside
comScore reported that online spending dropped in April weighing down shares of eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY).
Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) will pay approximately $1.28 billion in cash to acquire VeriSign's website security unit.
The Treasury Department announced an auction of 110.3 million Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) warrants.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 3 to 1 on the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 8 points to 674.
