Why the Dow's Easing Lower This Morning
After a couple of blockbuster weeks for stocks, the market is taking a long-deserved break today. Despite excitement about new quantitative easing from the Fed, the important thing to remember about government intervention is that the entire reason for it is that the economy isn't behaving the way policymakers want. Today's Empire State Index reading of -10.4 for manufacturing activity in New York was just the latest example of how slow the economy has been to react to past attempts at boosting growth. Just before 10:45 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrials (INDEX: ^DJI) were down about 27 points.
Among Dow stocks, most of the big movers were on the losing side. Cisco Systems (NAS: CSCO) fell 1.75% as it agreed to sell its stake in Comviva Technologies to Indian outsourcer Tech Mahindra. But the malaise may come more from concerns about Cisco's growth. Many dividend-hungry investors have pointed to Cisco's recent 75% increase in its payout as a positive sign, but Fool analysts David Meier and John Reeves noted that higher dividends also mean that Cisco doesn't see opportunities to invest in profitable projects.
Bank of America (NYS: BAC) was also down more than 2%, likely reflecting general concerns about the economy. In the long term, though, the bank is forced to fight against calls for it to split up, with Fool contributor Michael Lewis having noted over the weekend that investment banking divisions may be holding big banks like B of A back from realizing their full value. Pointing to Wells Fargo (NYS: WFC) as an example of a bank with a simpler structure and a stronger focus on traditional banking, Lewis argues that bank management teams are missing a smart move by rallying to keep their companies in one piece.
Finally, Alcoa (NYS: AA) was down almost 2%, giving back part of its 15% gain over the past two weeks. An article in Bloomberg over the weekend highlighted a tug-of-war occurring in Brazil as the government forces utilities to make electricity cheaper. Given the electricity-intensive production process for aluminum, Alcoa stands to be a huge winner if those initiatives push through.
Stocks often pause after big bull moves. The important question is what the long run will bring. For Bank of America, that's an especially difficult question to answer, but our top financial analysts have looked at those tough questions and come up with some interesting conclusions. Learn all about them in this premium report on Bank of America. You'll get a year's worth of updates as the bank releases more data. Check it out today.
The article Why the Dow's Easing Lower This Morning originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Dan Caplinger owns warrants on Wells Fargo. You can follow him on Twitter @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Cisco Systems. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Wells Fargo. 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.
