New Home Construction Plunges, Markets Open Lower
February new home construction plunged to weigh the markets down to a lower open with the Dow falling 58 points to 11,797. Nasdaq slipped 2 points to 2665.
On the upside
Bargain hunters lifted shares of Uranium Resources (Nasdaq: URRE) whose shares have plunged since a devastating earthquake in Japan damaged the cooling system at a nuclear power plant.
Vera Bradley (Nasdaq: VRA) reported lower fourth quarter earnings but the results surpassed analyst expectations by a wide margin.
Universal Display (Nasdaq: PANL) widened fourth quarter losses due to a non-cash loss on stock warrant liability but revenue more than doubled.
On the downside
Online Resources (Nasdaq: ORCC) widened fourth quarter losses as revenue slipped prompting a downgrade.
A sharp 22.5% plunge in February home construction weighed down shares of KB Home (NYSE: KBH).Shares of YRC Worldwide (Nasdaq: YRCW) continued falling after warning yesterday that it may have to file for bankruptcy for missing a restructuring milestone.In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE while decliners barely edged out advancers by a slim margin on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a point 792.
