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MarketView
Events defining the day's trading activity on Wall Street
Lauren Rudd
Monday, March 18, 2013
Summary
Stocks fell on Monday after a plan to tax bank
accounts in Cyprus to help pay for the country's bailout stoked worries
that it could threaten the stability of financial institutions in the
euro zone. The move pushed the S&P 500 farther from its 2007
record closing high of 1,565 after the index came within striking
distance last week. Financial stocks led the day's decline, following a
steep slide in European bank shares. JPMorgan Chase was down one percent
to $49.51. Cypriot ministers were trying to revise a plan to
seize money from bank deposits before a parliamentary vote on Tuesday
that will secure the island's financial rescue or could lead to its
default. European officials have said the measure is a
one-off for a country that accounts for just 0.2 percent of European
output. The fear is that savers in larger European countries will become
nervous and start withdrawing funds, although there was no immediate
sign of that on Monday. Earlier in the day, the Dow had lost more than 100
points to tumble to an intraday low of 14,404. The Dow, which broke
through its 2007 record highs on March 5, is still up about 10.3 percent
for the year. The S&P 500 is up 8.8 percent for the year. The benchmark
index is on track to post its best quarter in a year. The CBOE Volatility Index VIX, Wall Street's
favorite barometer of fear, chalked up a gain of 18.2 percent to 13.36.
Last week, the VIX hit a six-year low. Among decliners, Schlumberger fell 3.9 percent to
$76.34 after the company indicated that fewer rigs than predicted were
going back to work in its North American operations. Boeing fell 1.4
percent to $85.18. Boeing is putting the 787 Dreamliner through tough
tests that it had helped develop, but never used on the jet. Shares of Charter Communications rose 8.8 percent to
$98.04 after the Wall Street Journal said Liberty Media is close to
buying a 25 percent stake in the cable operator for about $2.5 billion. Liberty shares rose 0.3 percent to $110.66. After the bell, shares of Electronic Arts chalked up
a gain of 2.6 percent to $19.20 after stating that its chief executive
has resigned. The shares closed at $18.71.
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MarketView for March 18
MarketView for Monday, March 18