(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) U.S. stocks dropped Tuesday to end a volatile session ahead of the conclusion of the Fed meeting tomorrow.
At the closing bell in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average settled down 112 points at 17069 while the Nasdaq shed 57 points to finish at 4548 and the S&P 500 lost 17 points to end at 1973.
U.S. stock futures were initially down premarket as the Russian ruble plunged as much as 18% despite the central bank hiking interest rates to 17% from 10.5% in an emergency midnight move causing global stocks to fall. Then U.S. stocks moved sharply higher seeming to brush off woes as oil prices staged a rebound only to fall back down again.
West Texas Intermediate for January delivery rose 2 cents to settle at $55.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures earlier touched $53.60 the lowest intraday level since May 2009 as manufacturing activity in China contracted this month for the first time since May adding to worries about oversupply and demand.
On the economic front as the FOMC meeting begins today the US government issued its report on November housing starts which declined 1.6% to a 1.03 million annual rate. Economists were looking for a 3.1% gain to an annual rate of 1.04 million units. October housing starts were revised higher to a 1.05 million rate versus the prior estimate of 1.01 million.
The U.S. Markit flash PMI also fell in December to the weakest level in 11 months.
In corporate activity () (NYSE:TLM) Canada's fifth largest independent oil producer has agreed to be bought by Spanish oil giant Repsol for $13 billion including debt. Repsol said the purchase would boost its crude production by 76%. Shares of Talisman surged more than 48% Tuesday.
() has added $2 billion to its share buyback program bringing it to total $12 billion. The aircraft maker also raised its quarterly dividend by 25% to 91 cents per share. Shares added almost 2%.
() hiked its dividend by 20% to $1.025 per share ahead of its 2015 outlook meeting saying it is on track to deliver its long term targets.
Coca-Cola () meanwhile said it does not expect its 2015 earnings growth to be "significantly different" than this year's 4-5% adjusted for currency fluctuations.
() reversed earlier declines to climb 3.8% after reporting quarterly results above expectations even as current quarter forecasts were below Street estimates.
Archer Daniel Midlands (NYSE:ADM) has sold its cocoa business to Singapore-based commodities company Olam International for $1.3 billion.
Asian stocks mostly settled lower with Japanese shares continuing their slump for a second day dropping to 6-1/2 week lows due to the ongoing selloff in crude boosting demand for the safe haven yen and as Russia turmoil depressed investors. European markets closed sharply higher today led by shares in Germany as a ZEW survey showed financial experts are more confident about Germany's prospects than expected.
Gold for February delivery settled down 1.1% at $1194.30 an ounce. Policy makers meet today and tomorrow to debate the pace of raising the Fed’s benchmark rate which has been near zero since 2008.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.