Today's Lone Dow Winner
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down from the 52-week high it hit on Friday as investors fret over the European economy. As of 1:10 p.m. EST, the Dow is down 113 points, or 0.81% to 13,897. The S&P 500 is down 13 points, or 0.87%.
At 10 a.m. EST, the Department of Commerce reported that new orders for manufactured goods rose 1.8% in December to $484.8 billion. That's better than November's 0.3% drop but worse than analyst expectations of a 2.3% increase. If you exclude the volatile transportation sector, new orders rose just 0.2%.
US Manufacturing New Orders data by YCharts.
On Friday the Dow hit a new 52-week high of 14,019.8 points. That's just 1.1% away from its highest-ever level of 14,164.53, which it hit in October 2007. After the market finished higher for the fifth consecutive week, some analysts and investors believed the market was overbought and set for a down day. That day is today, with 29 of the 30 Dow stocks losing value.
Today the market is fixating on Europe, where the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index closed 1.5% lower. European investors are concerned about the health of the Spanish and Italian economies. Spanish and Italian government bonds were down sharply today, sending yields, and thus borrowing costs, higher. In Spain there is also potential for political turmoil as some people call for the resignation of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy due to reports of corruption, which he denies.
Today's Dow leader
Today's Dow leader is Cisco up 0.1%. Cisco has the distinction of being the only stock on the Dow making gains today. This morning the company launched a new line of products for data centers that will allow for faster speeds and more efficient operations. Analysts have been impressed with changes Cisco has made in its effort to make the company a one-stop shop for corporate IT departments.
Cisco has a lot going for it, including a rock-solid balance sheet, a dividend yield of 2.7%, and a low P/E ratio of 13.
Once a high-flying tech darling, Cisco is now on the radar of value-oriented dividend lovers. Get the low down on the routing juggernaut in The Motley Fool's premium report. Our report also has you covered with a full year of free analyst updates to keep you informed as its story changes, so click here now to read more.
The article Today's Lone Dow Winner originally appeared on Fool.com.
Dan Dzombak can be found on Twitter @DanDzombak or on his Facebook page, DanDzombak. He owns shares of Cisco Systems. The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems. 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 Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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