Global Recession Fears Take Toll on S&P 500

After its worst one-day loss since February 2009, the Standard & Poor's 500
Index was trading 17 points lower to around 1,180, about a 1.5% drop. Now down
more than 10% from its May high, the S&P 500s chief strategist thinks the index
is headed into correction territory. Despite a strong earnings season, fears of
a new global recession had traders fleeing equities for safer investments. While
more than 80% of companies have reported better earnings than expected for the
second quarter, few companies are projecting future growth. The high rate of
beats also calls into question the expectations rather than the performance of
the companies, further eroding investor confidence. Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN )
was about 50 points higher in early morning action, around 10%, to over $530 per
share as its forecast beat estimates thanks to greater revenues from European
markets. Priceline also benefited from a buy recommendation today. Down around
10% for the month and quarter, Priceline is now trading double digits above its
200-day moving average. EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG ) was up more than $6 and more
than 6% to over $101 as its earnings pleased investors. A buy recommendation
also was issued this morning for EOG Resources. It is down about 10% for the
week, month and quarter. Gaining more than $2.30 a share to almost $61 was Flour
Corp. (NYSE: FLR ), posting more than a 5% pickup as its earnings per share were
better than analysts expected. The construction giant also announced a new
contract with Saudi Arabia. It also received an outperform rating this morning.
Citigroup (NYSE: C ) was down about $1.30, a drop of around 3.7%, to move under
$33.50 per share as the entire financial sector was downgraded. Wells Fargo also
announced mortgage woes, dragging down bank stocks. A hacker attack on Citigroup
also was disclosed. The reverse split has done little to help the share price of
Citigroup as it is trading very close to its year low. Off about 3.5% was Nabor
Industries (NYSE: NBR ), as its 10-Q report filed today displeased the
investment community along with losses in foreign exchange, taking the stock to
a low of around $21.21, dropping more than 80 cents. The oil and gas exploration
company is suffering along with the entire energy sector as oil prices are at
six-month lows. Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI ) was trading lower by more than
$1.30 per share to about $33, shedding about 3.76% because of traders unhappy
with the recently filed 10-Q. The auto parts company also saw battery shipments
fall for June. The stock is down almost 20% for the month. Jonathan Yates does
not own any of the stocks mentioned in this article.