Wall Street stocks fell for
a second session on Friday, and trimmed already modest weekly gains, as
investors wrestled with downbeat jobs data, poor results from General
Motors and a bump in the price of oil. Poor results from GM, the
largest carmaker in the US, added to the losses. The company said it
had made a second-quarter loss of $15.5bn, four times larger than
analysts expected, because of the cost of labour disputes and a slump
in domestic sales. GM shares fell 7.6%. Ford shares dipped 3.1%. Over a volatile week,
the Dow edged down 0.3%, the Nasdaq held its ground and the S&P 500
rose 0.3% due to mixed second-quarter earnings, a decline in the price
of oil and some weak data on growth, home prices and employment.
S&P 500 company second-quarter profits have fallen 20%
on average compared to a year ago. Profits have slumped about 82% at
financials and more than 100% at consumer discretionary companies while
energy company profits have grown by 18%. Excluding financials, average
earnings on the S&P 500 rose 3%. Material stocks also fared poorly,
hit by new data showing US manufacturing activity stagnated in July.
Metals stocks led the materials sector down 2.6%. Titanium Metals
dropped 6.8%, Nucor fell 6% and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold lost
5.6%.
In healthcare, renewed safety
concerns about Biogen Idec’s multiple sclerosis drug weighed on the
sector. Biogen slumped 28.3%, while the sector gave up 1%. In
technology, poor results from Sun Microsystems, weighed on the sector.
The maker of server computers said profit fell 73%. Shares retreated
12.3%. In energy sector disappointing results from Chesapeake Energy,
an independent natural-gas producer, and Chevron, the oil producer,
eventually took their toll. Chesapeake lost 1.9%, Chevron dipped 0.3%.
European stocks fell Friday, erasing a weekly advance, as rebounding oil
prices dragged down industrial shares and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
abandoned its profit forecast. MAN AG and Rolls-Royce Group Plc dropped as crude futures rallied above
$128 a barrel. BMW, the world's largest maker of luxury
vehicles, tumbled the most since February after saying ``conditions for
the automobile industry have deteriorated sharply.'' BHP Billiton Plc
and Anglo American Plc retreated as copper and aluminum prices fell.
Deutsche Boerse AG, operator of the Frankfurt exchange, declined 4.4%. London Stock Exchange Group Plc, which said
Friday it will cut fees to become the ``cheapest trading venue in
Europe,'' slipped 1.8%.