8-Feb-2012 - US Stocks Tilt Lower

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By CHRISTIAN BERTHELSEN And TOMI KILGORE NEW YORK—U.S. stocks fell as investors continued to look for a deal in Greece to implement more austerity measures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 25 points, or 0.2% at 12820 in early Tuesday trade. Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 3.5 points, or 0.3%, at 1341, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 7.5 points, or 0.3%, to 2895. Nine of the S&P's 10 sectors opened lower, led by financials and industrials. Among blue chips, Boeing was down the most, by 0.7%, followed by J.P. Morgan Chase, down 0.5%. Disney was the largest gainer on the Dow, up 0.7%. The company reports earnings after the close. European markets lost ground, with the Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.7%, as the inability of the leaders of NBA jerseys Greece's political party to agree on austerity measures unnerved investors. A new fiscal pact is necessary for Greece to receive the next round of bailout funds. Fitch Ratings said if bailout negotiations in Greece fail, severe contagion is likely across Europe. Meanwhile, talks with the country's private bondholders are still proceeding at a plodding pace, with no signs of resolution. Asian bourses were mostly lower, led by a 1.7% drop in China's Shanghai Composite. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average eased 0.1%. Gold futures slipped 0.2% to 1,77.70 an ounce, while crude-oil futures shed 0.4% to 96.49 a barrel. The U.S. dollar fell against the euro but rose against the yen. On the economic calendar, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will begin his testimony to the U.S. Senate Budget Committee on monetary and fiscal policy at 10 a.m. EST. His comments aren't expected to be much different from remarks he made to a House Budget Committee last week. In addition, data on job openings and labor turnover in December are due at 10 a.m. EST, followed by figures on consumer credit at 3 p.m. In corporate nike nfl jerseys news, shares of Coca-Cola rose 0.4% after the blue-chip soft-drink company reported fourth-quarter earnings and custom nhl jerseys revenue that exceeded estimates, with volume growing in every geographic operating group. Coinstar climbed 16% after the company reported fourth-quarter results that were well above expectations and provided a first-quarter revenue outlook that was above current projections. In addition, the company said its wholly owned subsidiary Redbox Automated Retail has agreed to buy the assets of NCR's entertainment business for up to 100 million. NCR rose 8.5%. Becton Dickinson slumped 2.1% after the medical technology company reported fiscal first-quarter results that were in line with expectations but lowered its 2012 earnings forecast. BioMimetic Therapeutics ran up 27% after the company said a clinical trial of its treatment for rotator cuff tears achieved its primary safety endpoint. Write to Tomi Kilgore at tomi.kilgore@dowjones.com

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