Indices hit after German bomb scare – New York Report
AFALSE alarm which caused the cancellation of the Germany-Netherlands football match last night put the brakes on what was an otherwise good day on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 0.04 per cent at 17,489.5 and the S&P 500 lost 0.13 per cent to 2,050.44. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.03 per cent to finish at 4,986.02.
All three major US indexes had ventured into positive territory following upbeat earnings reports from Walmart and Home Depot. But they quickly relinquished those gains after the friendly was cancelled less than two hours before its start due to indications of a planned attack with explosives at the stadium in Hannover.
“These situations create uncertainty and in uncertain times everyone goes to cash,” said Mohannad Aama, managing director, Beam Capital Management LLC in New York.
Despite the broad market’s reversal, Walmart ended 3.54 per cent higher and Home Depot climbed 4.42 per cent, pushing the S&P 500 retail index up one per cent.
The healthy quarterly performance of Wal-Mart and Home Depot stood in contrast to results from department stores Macy’s and Nordstrom last week that sent some retail stock sharply lower.
Home Depot rival Lowe’s rose 1.69 per cent and Target added 0.83 percent. Both report their quarterly results today.
Underscoring the uneven performance among retailers, Urban Outfitters dropped 3.84 per cent and Dick’s Sporting Goods lost 9.43 per cent after handing in quarterly report cards that disappointed investors.