The Norman Transcript

Headlines

Discussion

March 22, 2013

Weak sales, Cyprus fears weigh on stocks

By Daniel Wagner Associated Press

NORMAN — Stocks closed lower on Wall Street Thursday after Oracle’s weak sales results weighed down big U.S. technology companies. Traders also worried about Cyprus running out of time to avoid bankruptcy.

Major indexes followed European markets lower at the open and remained solidly negative all day. The Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 129 points by mid-afternoon before paring the loss to close down 90 points.

All three major indexes felt the drag from technology stocks after Oracle reported an unexpected decline in sales in its fiscal third quarter. Oracle’s results have an outsized impact on other technology stocks because it reports earlier than most of its peers.

European markets had closed sharply lower. The main indexes in Paris and Frankfurt fell 1.4 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively, on fear that the crisis in Cyprus will intensify. The European Central Bank has threatened to end emergency support of the nation’s banks next week unless leaders can secure more funding.

Cyprus must raise about $7.5 billion in the next four days to avoid bankruptcy. Several plans have failed, including a proposal to tax deposits held by the nation’s banks. If the Mediterranean banking haven is unable to secure a bailout, its banks will fail and it could be forced to leave the euro currency. Worries about that scenario first hit stock markets Monday.

“It’s amazing how quickly things can turn back to Cyprus and Europe,” said Oliver Cross, director of research with Carolinas Investment Consulting LLC in Charlotte, N.C. Cross spent his day focused on headlines from Europe, rather than digesting happier news about hiring and home sales in the U.S.

Oracle was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 index; Juniper Networks also fell steeply. The S&P 500 closed down 12.91 points, or 0.8 percent, at 1,545.80.

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Headlines
  • OU V Arkansas Sooners will rematch Razorbacks in regional title game today

    It’s a rematch on tap today at Marita Hynes Field. Top-ranked Oklahoma will face No. 24 Arkansas in the NCAA softball regional championship a day after downing the Razorbacks 10-5 in the second round of the regional tournament....

    May 19, 2013 1 Photo

  • May rainfall below needed levels in state

    Norman residents looking for dry days to mow yards may think spring rains are coming frequently, but experts say those rains are less than central Oklahoma needs to pull itself out of the three-year-long drought. Lake Thunderbird’s ...

    May 19, 2013

  • camp 4 J.D. McCarty Center hosts open house for Camp ClapHans

    The excitement of summer camp is no longer off limits to local children with special needs, thanks to J.D. McCarty Center’s upcoming Camp ClapHans....

    May 19, 2013 1 Photo

  • Pecan Valley neighborhood hit

    The Pecan Valley housing addition in unincorporated Cleveland County northeast of Lake Thunderbird took the hardest hit in the Norman area as a tornado tracked across the lake Sunday evening. At the emergency command post set up at the ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Israeli seeks interim deal with Palestinians

    JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior coalition partner says that reaching a final peace agreement with the Palestinians is unrealistic at the current time and the sides should instead pursue an interim arrangement....

    May 20, 2013

  • Syrian troops push into town

    BEIRUT — Syrian troops pushed into a rebel-held town near the Lebanese border on Sunday, fighting house-to-house and bombing from the air as President Bashar Assad tried to strengthen his grip on a strategic strip of land running from the ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Board looks at hirings

    The hiring of three key administrators tops Monday’s meeting of the Norman Public Schools board of education. The board meets at 7 p.m. in the Norman City Council chambers, 201 W. Gray St....

    May 20, 2013

  • Tornadoes level homes in Oklahoma

    SHAWNEE — One of several tornadoes that touched down Sunday in Oklahoma turned homes in a trailer park near Oklahoma City into splinters and rubble and sent frightened residents along a 100-mile corridor scurrying for shelter....

    May 20, 2013

  • Fate of Los Angeles marijuana shops left to voters

    LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles politicians have struggled for more than five years to regulate medical marijuana, trying to balance the needs of the sick against neighborhood concerns that pot shops attract crime. Voters will head to the polls ...

    May 20, 2013

  • AP CEO calls seizure unconstitutional

    WASHINGTON — The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government’s secret seizure of two months of reporters’ phone records “unconstitutional” and said the news cooperative had not ruled out ...

    May 20, 2013