AmEx, Caterpillar: Dow Movers
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stocks finished Wednesday lower as worries about Europe's stability bruised investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 77 points, or 0.62%, to close at 12,495. The S&P 500 dropped 9.3 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 1315 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 24 points, or 0.86%, to settle at 2,819.
Breadth within the Dow was negative with 20 of the 30 components posting losses. Three blue chips finished unchanged, Coca-Cola (KO), Pfizer (PFE), and AT&T (T).
Leading the Dow lower were Caterpillar (CAT), American Express (AXP) and Home Depot (HD).
Shares of Caterpillar fell 2.02% to $85.29. The industrial and construction company announced a 13% increase of its quarterly dividend during the session, lifting its payout to 52 cents a share. The stock has fallen 5.86% year to date. Home Depot shares lost 2.43% Wednesday to $50.97. The stock has risen 21.24% year to date. Shares of American Express decreased 2.44% to $55.10. The credit card company's stock has risen 16.81% year to date. The biggest gainers in the blue-chip index on Wednesday were Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM). JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon testified before the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday morning and reviews of his performance were generally positive. He described the bank's massive trading loss in its synthetic credit derivative portfolio as an "isolated event" and said the executives involved in the transaction could see clawbacks of their pay. JPMorgan shares rose 1.6% to close at $34.30. The stock is up a little more than 3% so far in 2012. Shares of Johnson & Johnson gained 2.2% to finish at $64.45. The consumer goods and drug company was upgraded by JPMorgan analysts to overweight from neutral with a $74 price target. Jefferies also upgraded the stock to buy from hold on Wednesday. The stock has fallen 1.7% year to date. --Written by Alexandra Zendrian in New York.>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Alexandra Zendrian >To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com. >To follow the writer on Twitter, go to Alexandra Zendrian.
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