Why the Dow's Dropping Again Today
Even as the stock market closes out a successful first quarter, it's well on its way to posting a third straight day of losses today. Falling unemployment claims weren't enough to assuage fears about world economic activity, and rocky performance from the Chinese stock market has some investors particularly concerned. Others simply believe that investors are taking profits after a huge gain to start 2012. A bit before 1:45 p.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrials (INDEX: ^DJI) were down 50 points to 13,077, while the S&P 500 was down 10 points to 1,396.
Among Dow stocks, Coca-Cola (NYS: KO) rose about three-quarters of a percent. The company opened a new factory in China that will be its largest in the country. Having invested $160 million in the plant, Coke will be able to produce volume of roughly 5 billion units from the facility.
Oil stocks fell slightly, with both ExxonMobil (NYS: XOM) and Chevron (NYS: CVX) losing less than half a percent. In a vote in the Senate, lawmakers chose not to repeal current tax incentives for oil companies. The move defies the Obama administration, which lobbied for the repeal to generate $24 billion in revenue over the next decade, some of which would have been used for energy efficiency incentives. In the long run, massive profits at oil companies will inevitably raise political pressure to increase taxes and eliminate subsidies, especially if oil prices stay at high levels.
Finally, Johnson & Johnson (NYS: JNJ) was down about 0.4%. All eyes are on Washington as the Supreme Court has been hearing arguments about the constitutionality of the health-care reform law. Yet regardless of whether the current private insurance system continues or whether a more nationally based program takes hold, J&J can still point to favorable demographic trends and overseas expansion opportunities as potentially huge profit-makers.
Don't slip up
The worst thing you can do on a down day is to start panicking. The best stocks survive short-term drops to thrive in the long run. Learn about the one stock the Fool's chief investment officer picked to crush the market in this free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012." Instant access is just a click away.
At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Dan Caplinger doesn't own shares of the companies mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter here. The Motley Fool owns shares of Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of ExxonMobil, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and Chevron, as well as creating a diagonal call position in Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
