Stock Market News - Stock Market Today Is Lower As Investors Worry About Europe And China

Stocks began the day sharply lower on the heels of a sell off in the European markets

by Press Office

(SEOSamba and WireNews+Co) - London, England - 22 May 2012

The weakness overseas was attributed to concern over Greece's inability to form a coalition government, putting its continued participation in the euro zone in greater doubt. The weakness spread to the U.S., where the financial sector remains in turmoil following JP Morgan's (JPM) trading loss. The market opened lower but the selling intensified before finding a level where it began to recapture some of its losses. The market has essentially drifted off its lows to cut its losses in half...

ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., there was little on the economic calendar to distract investors from worries about Europe and China. In Europe, the yields on 10-year Greek, Spanish and Italian bonds all climbed while German bond yields declined to historically low levels as fear continues to mount about the potential exit of Greece from the euro currency. Stock markets across Europe plunged as well. In China, the central bank took action over the weekend to stimulate slowing growth, as it announced plans to cut its bank reserve requirement by 0.5 percentage points the day after economic rea dings showed inflation, industrial production growth, spending and lending had all slowed...

COMPANY NEWS: Yahoo! (YHOO) shares gained almost 3% after its CEO Scott Thompson relented to pressure and stepped down following a firestorm over a computer science degree he never received. The company also reached a deal with activist shareholder Dan Loeb of Third Point, who had initially disclosed Thompson's resume problems, as the company agreed to allow Loeb and two other Third Point nominees to join its board... Another recently embattled company, Chesapeake Energy (CHK), jumped 7% after the company said it had arranged for a $3B unsecured loan to aid its financial flexibility as it continues to sell off assets. Also, the Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Carl Icahn will likely reveal he once again has increased his stake in Chesapeake, and the company said on its call to discuss its financing that it "wouldn't be surprised" if Icahn becomes a large shareholder... JPMorgan Chase (JPM) continues to deal with the fallout of its $2B trading loss, as the bank announced that its Chief Investment Officer Ina Drew will retire, to be replaced by Matt Zames, and the bank's stock fell another 2%... Best Buy (BBY) Chairman Richard Schulze will step down when his term ends after the company's investigation into its former CEO Brian Dunn found that Dunn violated policy by engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with a female employee and Schulze failed to bring the matter to the board's audit committee when he first learned of the allegations...

MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers were Golfsmith (GOLF), up 28%, after agreeing to be acquired by Canada's Golf Town for $6.10 per share in cash, and Citizens South Banking (CSBC), up 24%, following its announcement that it will merge with Park Sterling Corporation (PSTB). Also higher were shares of Avon (AVP), up more than 4%, after the company responded to the latest $24.75 per share buyout offer from Coty, but asked for another week to make a decision on the bid... Noteworthy losers included Ancestry.com (ACOM), down 13%, following NBC's decision not to renew the TV show "Who Do You Think You Are?", and InterOil (IOC), down 9%, after the company got notice from Papua New Guinea of the state's intention to cancel an LNG project agreement...

INDICES: Near noon, the Dow was down 82.07, or 0.64%, to 12,738.53; the Nasdaq was down 16.01, or 0.55%, to 2,917.81; and the S&P 500 was down 9.14, or 0.68%, to 1,344.25. (YHOO, CHK, JPM, BBY, GOLF, CSBC, PSTB, AVP, ACOM, IOC)

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