Dow Jonesing for Gains Following Spain-Induced Sell-Off
With a lack of market-moving economic data ahead today, all eyes will fixate on Europe once again. Yesterday, news of a Spanish aid package backfired on investors, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) falling 143 points after opening up nearly 100 in early trading. The $125 billion package, aimed at rescuing Spanish banks, has led to new questions on the potential need for additional bailout funds in the near future. These events occur only days before critical elections in Greece that will largely determine the country's ability to stay in the eurozone.
Fool me twice, shame on me
Moving on to company news, reports surfaced yesterday evening that top brass at JPMorgan Chase (NYS: JPM) were made aware of unsuitable behavior on the loss-prone London trading desk as early as 2010. The discovery comes on the heels of the disclosure of $2 billion in trading losses in early May. That number could rise to as much as $5 billion over time, well short of the $30 billion in lost market capitalization since the disclosure.
Earnings and events
On the earnings front, women's apparel retailer Michael Kors (NYS: KORS) announced its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings this morning. Shares are up more than 10% in premarket trading after the company beat estimates handily, posting $380 million in revenue ($361 million estimate) and earnings per share of $0.21 ($0.16 estimate).
Buzz about the keynote address at Apple's (NAS: AAPL) developer's conference will undoubtedly dominate headlines in tech today. Key announcements included the rollout of a new MacBook Pro with Retina display, the introduction of mobile operating system iOS 6, and the unveiling of a homegrown mapping application.
While it won't receive as many headlines, another tech conference kicks off today in Cisco's (NYS: CSCO) annual customer conference, Cisco Live. Prior to a keynote address from CEO John Chambers, the company is hosting a news conference discussing core networking and cloud strategy at 11:30 a.m. EDT. Shares in the networking leader, which leads global market share in both switches and routers, have declined 12% following a disappointing near-term outlook provided on its last earnings call.
Finding growth
Part of Cisco's muted outlook was driven by slowing spending patterns in Europe, a trend it doesn't seem will end anytime soon. But there are incredible growth opportunities to be found elsewhere, in particular a booming Latin American market. In our new special report, "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012," our analysts outline a company revolutionizing Latin American commerce. This feature report is available right now -- entirely free of charge -- by clicking here now!
At the time thisarticle was published Brenton Flynn owns no stake in the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Cisco Systems and JP Morgan Chase. The Fool owns shares of Apple.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Apple.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended creating a bull call spread position in Apple. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days.
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