Wednesday, June 17, 2009

US Stocks Narrowly Mixed After Gloomy FedEx Outlook

U.S. stocks were narrowly mixed after a gloomy outlook from FedEx and data showing the biggest annual drop in consumer prices in nearly 60 years.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little-changed, moving between small gains and losses. The Dow has fallen 3% since creeping into positive territory for the year last week. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index were also flat.

FedEx sank 1.4% after its fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened and the package-delivery giant projected earnings for the current quarter well below Wall Street forecasts. Results for FedEx and other shippers are often seen as an important gauge of overall economic activity. Rival UPS was marginally lower.

The consumer-price index rose 0.1% in May from April but fell 1.3% from a year ago, the largest 12-month decline since April 1950. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, climbed 0.1% month over month. The data support the growing sentiment at the Federal Reserve that deflation risks have waned. But there's little evidence inflation is taking hold, a concern that has crept into bond markets in recent weeks.

Treasury prices rose after the report. The two-year note was up 1/32 to yield 1.17%, while the benchmark 10-year note rose 3/32 to yield 3.64%.

Crude-oil futures sank below $70 a barrel ahead of the release of weekly data on U.S. fuel inventories.

Asian markets finished mostly lower, but the Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% in Tokyo. Stocks in Europe were weaker for the fourth session in a row. The FTSE 100 slid 1%.

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