High crude price weighs on US stocks

Market ends lower as oil kisses $86 mark and Citigroup issues fourth quarter earning warning

Warning from Citigroup and higher crude prices weighed on the US stocks today and the indices closed lower for the day ending Monday, 15 October, 2007. After opening slightly higher for the day, indices plunged in the morning hours in reaction to Citigroup’s earnings warning. But in the final hours, market tried recovering part of its losses. Crude oil crossed the $86/barrel mark for the first day ever.

The Dow Jones industrial Average closed lower by 108.28 points at 13,984.8. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished lower by 25.63 points at 2,780.05. S&P 500 finished lower by 13.09 points at 1,548.71.

Twenty-three of thirty Dow stocks ended in red. General Motors was one of the main losers. Intel and Exxon Mobil were a couple of the seven Dow winners.

After the opening bell, the indices registered little gains. But soon the earnings report from Citigroup started taking its toll on the indices.

Citigroup reported that third quarter net income dropped 57%. The company's profits were above Wall Street estimates. But the main reason behind this was estimates had come down so much due to problems in the fixed income area.

But the company’s acknowledgment that consumer credit markets will continue to deteriorate in the fourth quarter was what kept haunting the market for the entire day.

Crude oil futures rose today and crossed the $86/barrel mark for the first time ever as fresh problems surfaced between Turkey and Iraq. The problems gave birth to concerns that this might lead to slowing down of shipments as peak season is commencing and would call for more demand for meeting the peak heating demand.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for November delivery closed at $86.13/barrel (higher by $2.44/barrel or 2.9%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached $86.22 during intra day trading.

Prices were also boosted by some comments from OPEC after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said production outside the group will be lower than previously forecast. OPEC said that non-OPEC supply will average 50.29 million barrels a day this year, down 28,000 barrels from last month's estimate.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 1.2 billion, with declining stocks ahead of advancers more than 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, more than 2 billion shares were exchanged, and declining issues topped advancing stocks 5 to 2.

For tomorrow, investors will look for corporate financials to help set the tone of trading. Before the bell, Johnson & Johnson is scheduled while IBM and Intel feature after the close.