US Stocks fell at the end of last week as a possible debt default by Dubai World sent ripples of fear through Wall St in a thinly traded session after Thanksgiving. The Dubai government shocked the world by saying that it needed at least a 6 month deferment on $60 billion owed by Dubai World and Nakheel.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154 points to 10,310. The S&P500 Index is 19 points lower at 1,091 and the NASDAQ dropped 38 points to 2,138.
In company news: Shares in First Niagara Financial Group (NASDAQ:FNFG) declined 1.28 per cent to $13.12. The thrift holding company for First Niagara Bank says it has applied to the Federal Reserve to convert to a bank-holding company. This will allow the company to acquire both thrift institutions and commercial banks.
Shares in software maker Phoenix Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:PTEC) gained 1.5 per cent to $2.71. The company announced the appointment of five new directors to its board expanding it now to 10 members. The move is part of an agreement with RCG Starboard Advisor, LLC, a subsidiary of Ramius LLC.
Shares in retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) lost 0.6 per cent to $54.63. Retailers were focused on ‘Black Friday’ the first day of shopping of the critical holiday retail period which is seen as a good indicator of how the next six weeks will pan out. Investors are also looking at ‘Black Friday’ to assess the health the consumer.
And shares in Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) fell 3.01 per cent to $15.47. The banks were hit hard by the news of debt woes in Dubai after the Dubai government said it would ask for an extension to billions dollars of debt owned by Dubai World and infrastructure company Nakheel.
In the NASDAQ Top 100: There were just three stocks that closed in the black on the Nasdaq on Friday. Warner Chilcott was the best performer, adding 1.05% to $24.47 followed by Apollo Group and Activision Blizzard. In a sea of red the worst performer was Infosys Technologies shares down 3.93% to $50.57, while News Corp and Wynn Resorts also closed lower.