stock markets

Stocks declined sharply Friday as concerns over interest rates persisted. Utilities, companies that make basic materials like steel, and major exporters had the biggest declines.

With no obvious catalyst pushing them either way, the major indexes spent most of Wednesday wavering between slight gains and losses. Investors are waiting for clues from a Federal Reserve meeting next Wednesday as to when it may start increasing interest rates. The prospect of higher rates and a surge in the dollar have been weighing on markets since indexes hit record highs last week.

Tuesday, a rough day in the stock market — the worst in five months — witnessed even bigger losses for many big media companies that took it on the chin. Some of the major losers yesterday were three big pay TV providers — Comcast Corp., down 3.1% to close at $58.70; Dish Network, off 3.6% to $103.23; and Time Warner Cable falling 3.1% to $154.79. Better-performing media companies — by relative comparison — were media content owners: Fox slipping 1.2% to $34.29; CBS, down 1.8% to $59.43; Viacom, losing 2.1% to $69.95; Walt Disney, off 1.9% to $103.23; and Time Warner, down 2.1% to $83.38.

Investors dumped stocks from the start of trading Tuesday and the selling accelerated as the day wore on. All 10 industry sectors in the S&P 500 closed lower.

On Monday, stocks rebounded from a big sell-off on Friday when the market slumped after an unexpectedly strong jobs report. The healthy hiring picture bolstered speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise its interest rates sooner than had previously been expected.

Stocks opened lower Friday and the losses accelerated throughout the day. By the close of trading the S&P 500 index had logged its biggest one-day loss since Jan. 5.

Investors got some positive news on the global economy early in the day Thursday that help drive up the market as the European Central Bank upgraded its growth forecast for the eurozone this year to 1.5% from 1%.

Wednesday saw stocks fall modestly, pulling the market further below earlier record highs. Given the market’s recent run, it’s only natural for investors to turn cautious, said Terry Sandven, senior equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

Stocks fell Tuesday after a strong Monday. The losses were modest but broad, with eight industry sectors in the Standard and Poor’s 500 index falling. Higher oil prices helped oil drillers and other energy companies buck the trend. They eked out a 0.2% rise for the day. With no major economic news and few earnings reports, investors were at pains to point to a catalyst for the stock slump other than jitters that sometime follow big gains.

Major U.S. indexes rose from the start Monday, with the Nasdaq passing the milestone number shortly before noon. The tech-heavy index then dropped, but rose again toward the close of trading to end at 5,008.10 on Monday, just 40 points from its March 2000 record. Merger news and an encouraging economic report drove the gains.

Major stock indexes closed lower on Friday, capping a week of subdued trading that still delivered a couple of new highs for the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index. It also brought the Nasdaq composite within striking distance of its March 2000 high.

The Dow and S&P 500 opened lower on Thursday and held that course most of the day, while the Nasdaq gradually moved higher. The market’s trajectory took shape early on, as traders pored over corporate earnings and economic news.

Trading was relatively subdued Wednesday as investors reviewed the latest corporate earnings news. Utilities stocks were among the biggest decliners. Energy stocks rebounded as oil prices broke a five-day slide and climbed back above $50 a barrel.

Stocks started off Monday basically flat as investors weighed developments in Greece and falling oil prices. They ended the day mostly lower.

Stocks started off Friday solidly lower. The Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 107 points. But as rumors and news came out that Greece and its creditors were close to a deal, the market climbed ever-so-steadily higher. The euro also gained against the dollar.

The markets barely budged Wednesday following the midafternoon release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting. The transcript showed that policymakers were less likely to raise interest rates in June than investors previously thought. The decline follows two straight days of record closing highs for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

Indexes had languished for much of the day Tuesday as investors worried that Greece wouldn’t reach an agreement with its creditors. News that a compromise could be in the works helped send indexes marginally higher in the afternoon.

One major media analyst says its time to pull back on cable stocks — with the advent of a big broadband regulatory push and a continued fleeing of customers. “With stocks having largely achieved our target prices, with cord-cutting risks mounting, and regulation clouding the path forward in broadband, it seems to us to be time to reduce exposure,” says Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson Research. He downgraded the big three cable stocks — Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter — to “neutral.”

A positive January jobs report startled investors who have become accustomed to near-zero interest rates. U.S. employers added 257,000 jobs last month and wages jumped by the most in six years, evidence that the job market is closer to full health. The gain was far better than the 230,000 jobs economists had expected.

Stocks jumped Thursday on the advances of health care and energy issues. Investors plowed money back into stocks following a slump the week before, encouraged by a 4 percent jump in the price of crude oil and Pfizer’s $16 billion deal to buy the drugmaker Hospira.

Major U.S. indexes got off to a weak start Wednesday as a renewed drop in crude oil tugged down shares of energy companies. The Standard & Poor’s 500 recovered its losses by midday, meandered through the afternoon, then swung from a solid gain to a slight loss in the market’s last 30 minutes following the announcement from the European Central Bank.

Stocks climbed from the start Tuesday following a rally in European markets on signs that Greece’s new government won’t press for a write-off of the country’s bailout loans. The benchmark stock index in Athens jumped 11%. U.S. investors were also encouraged by a surge in auto sales last month.

Stocks opened higher, then moved down, then back up Monday as investors seemed unable to make up their minds. A pair of weak reports on the U.S. economy fed the uncertainty. Oil prices ended up surging for a third straight day, and stocks of big producers jumped. All 10 industry sectors in the Standard and Poor’s 500 index rose.

Strong earnings results and positive job news gave stocks a lift on Thursday. The broader market rally helped the major stock indexes regain some of the ground they lost earlier in the week, though they remain down for the year.

Stocks faded late Wednesday after the Federal Reserve issued a statement making clear that it would remain “patient” in raising interest rates from near zero, which was expected. But the Fed also strengthened its assessment of the U.S. economy, noting it is expanding at a solid pace and generating strong job growth.

The major stock indexes got off to a rough start early on Tuesday, each opening sharply lower as investors digested disappointing company earnings news. An unexpected drop in U.S. orders of long-lasting goods also weighed on the market.

Major stock indexes barely budged early Monday as investors took in stride the election of a Greek political party that has called for the elimination of some that nation’s rescue loans. Market players also weighed the latest batch of corporate earnings.

U.S. stocks slid Friday after some earnings reports from big-name companies fell short of expectations.

Stocks rallied Thursday after news of Europe’s new stimulus plan. The pledge by the European Central Bank to spend 1.1 trillion euros on bonds knocked down government borrowing rates across Europe and drove the euro to its lowest level against the dollar in 11 years. For investors, the long wait for action in Europe was over.

Stocks flitted between gains and losses at the open of trading Wednesday, then rose on media reports that new stimulus measures by the European Central Bank will be as large as investors anticipated. The bank is expected on Thursday to unveil a massive round of government bond buying, a program known as quantitative easing.

U.S. economic news Tuesday offered little encouragement. A combination of tepid earnings results, falling oil prices and downbeat news kept the market lower for most of the day. Major indexes started higher in the first few minutes of trading but quickly faded.

Stocks rallied Friday when oil prices jumped after the International Energy Agency predicted drillers would cut production this year. Exxon Mobil, Chevron and other energy companies led all 10 sectors of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to gains, climbing 3 percent. Oil’s seven-month slide had cut its price by more than half.

U.S. stocks fell from the start of trading Wednesday on a report that consumers pulled back on spending last month and on a slump in European markets. Investors dumped some key commodities on fears global growth is stalling, pushing the price of copper to a five-year low, and they piled into German, British and U.S. government bonds.

The U.S. market opened Tuesday higher, getting a boost from encouraging news on hiring and small business confidence. The market then swooned in the afternoon as oil closed lower. The pendulum then swung back late in the day as oil gained in after-hours trading and stocks ended with small losses.

The steep drop in oil prices over recent months has investors second-guessing expectations for the quarterly earnings season that starts this week and stocks headed lower on Monday.

U.S. stocks slid Friday following news of weak wage growth and the continuing slump in oil prices. The decline followed two days of big gains and nudged major indexes lower for the year.

Investors sent shares sharply higher for a second straight day Thursday, erasing the market’s heavy losses from the first few days of the year. The gains were driven by a combination of positive economic news from the U.S. and hopes for stimulus from Europe’s central bank.

Major indexes started climbing from the opening bell Wednesday, following a report from ADP, the payroll processor, which showed that businesses hired more workers last month. Companies added 241,000 workers in December, an increase from the previous month.

Stocks continued to retreat from their recent record highs on Tuesday, weighed down by an ongoing plunge in the price of oil. Bonds rallied as investors bought the safest assets, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note back below 2 percent for the first time in three months.