U.S. Shares Steady In Early Trade

@AFP
U.S. Shares Steady In Early Trade

New York (AFP) — U.S. shares traded fairly flat early Tuesday, appearing to continue taking a breather that started last Friday after a solid one-month run.

But biotech shares got a boost from Vertex Pharmaceuticals (+40.6 percent) after it reported promising results in tests of two drugs for treating cystic fibrosis.

Thirty minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 13.52 points (0.08 percent) to 16,923.74.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 1.32 (0.07 percent) to 1,961.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 5.47 (0.13 percent) to 4,374.14.

“By and large, markets look to be consolidating some of their recent gains as the end of the second quarter approaches,” said Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com.

Facebook led the major companies with a 1.6 percent gain, while Philip Morris slipped 1.6 percent.

On the Dow, UnitedHealth was the biggest gainer, up 0.5 percent.

Blackberry eased 2.2 percent after three days of gains that came on an improvement in the struggling smartphone maker’s finances.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year U.S/ Treasury fell to 2.60 percent from 2.62 percent, while the 30-year dropped to 3.42 percent from 3.45 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

AFP Photo / Spencer Platt

Interested in news about the economy? Sign up for our daily email newsletter!

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}