Financial News

LONDON (ShareCast) - US shares continued their decline led by a sharp fall for Nasdaq (NASDAQ: news) following disappointing figures from PC supplier Dell (NASDAQ: DELL - news) last night.

Dell's third-quarter revenue and profits missed Wall Street projections, but sales rose 1% from the second quarter and the company said that they would continue to increase in the coming months, marking three periods of sequential improvement.

Third quarter profits dropped to $337m, or 17c a share, from $727m, or 37c, a year earlier as sales shrank to $12.9bn from $15.2bn.

Dell was the worst Nasdaq performer and its shares fell by nearly 10%.

The NASDAQ Composite index is down 17 points at 2,140, while the S&P 500 index is seven points lower at 1,088. The narrowly based Dow Jones Industrial Average is 39 points easier at 10,293.

Unemployment rose in 29 US states in October. Michigan's jobless rate of 15.1% was the highest.

Pharma companies were some of the few risers in the Dow. Merck (MERK.JK - news) has gained a recommendation for the approval of a fertility drug by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE - news) rose in sympathy.

Jam and preserves maker Smuckers is sharply higher after underlying earnings for the second quarter came in substantially ahead of market expectations.

Fashion retailer Gap posted a 25% rise in quarterly profit as sales rebounded at its Old Navy chain and the company recorded its highest margins in a decade. Sales at Gap stores, as well as its more upscale brand Banana Republic, remained sluggish.

House builder D R Horton (NYSE: DHI - news) 's shares suffered from subsidence after the company's fourth quarter figures revealed a loss of 73 cents per share, much worse than the market had been expecting. Sector peer Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM - news) falls in sympathy following a rise earlier in the week when Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) raised its recommendation on the stock from hold to buy.

S&P 500 - Risers Smuckers J M (SJM (025530.KS - news) ) $56.06 +4.82% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $36.24 +2.58% Prologis Sbi (NYSE: PLD - news) (PLD) $13.56 +2.42% Gamestop Corp (NYSE: GME - news) . (GME) $25.08 +2.37% Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPS) $27.29 +1.87% Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV - news) (LUV) $9.05 +1.57% Qwest Comm International Inc. (Q) $3.73 +1.53% Sara Lee Corp (NYSE: SLE - news) . (SLE) $12.37 +1.39% Ppl Corp (NYSE: PPL - news) . (PPL) $30.25 +1.37% Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $18.35 +1.33%

S&P 500 - Fallers D R Horton Inc. (DHI) $10.70 -12.65% Dell Inc. (DELL) $14.36 -9.51% Noble Corp (NYSE: NE - news) . (NE) $39.00 -6.47% Nabors Inds Inc. (NBR) $19.92 -5.32% Cons Energy Inc. (CNX) $45.21 -4.92% Pulte Homes Inc. (PHM) $9.34 -4.89% Rowan Cos Inc. (RDC) $24.35 -4.17% Ensco International Inc. (ESV) $43.70 -4.08% Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $13.60 -4.02% News Corp. Class A (NWSA) $11.95 -3.94%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $36.24 +2.58% Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $18.35 +1.33% Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $27.22 +0.93% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $57.32 +0.77% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $63.63 +0.35%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT - news) . (CAT) $57.11 -2.56% General Electric Co. (GE) $15.47 -1.84% Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA - news) . (AA) $12.98 -1.82% American Express Inc. (AXP) $40.54 -1.46% Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO - news) . (CSCO) $23.34 -1.44% Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD - news) . (HD) $26.78 -1.22% 3M Co. (MMM) $76.33 -1.19% Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC - news) . (INTC) $19.09 -1.09% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $29.94 -0.89% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $61.61 -0.87%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers Millicom International Cellular S.A. (MICC) $74.67 +1.41% Ryanair Holdings Plc Adr (RYAAY) $26.24 +1.08% Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $59.37 +0.90% Celgene Corp (NASDAQ: CELG - news) . (CELG) $55.00 +0.82% Expedia Inc (NASDAQ: EXPE - news) . (EXPE) $24.79 +0.81% Genzyme Corp (NASDAQ: GENZ - news) . (GENZ) $50.00 +0.75% Express Scripts Inc (NASDAQ: ESRX - news) . (ESRX) $84.63 +0.70% Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB - news) . (BIIB) $46.11 +0.57% Nii Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: NIHD - news) . (NIHD) $28.82 +0.49% Echostar Communications Corp. (DISH) $19.94 +0.40%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers Dell Inc. (DELL) $14.36 -9.51% Hologic Inc (NASDAQ: HOLX - news) . (HOLX) $14.26 -5.37% Foster Wheeler AG (FWLT) $31.55 -3.37% Joy Global Inc (NASDAQ: JOYG - news) . (JOYG) $53.15 -3.12% Intuit Inc (NASDAQ: INTU - news) . (INTU) $29.34 -3.07% Garmin Ltd (NASDAQ: GRMN - news) . (GRMN) $30.60 -2.86% Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX - news) (STX (011810.KS - news) ) $15.60 -2.80% Network Appliance Inc (NASDAQ: NTAP - news) . (NTAP) $30.05 -2.55% Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $28.44 -2.47% Liberty Global Inc (NASDAQ: LBTYA - news) . Series A (LBTYA) $20.45 -2.39%