MARKET REPORT

Dow falls 23.66 on Boeing woes

— More problems for Boeing’s 787 sent the aircraft maker’s stock down sharply Wednesday, dragging the Dow Jones industrial average lower.

Japan’s two biggest airlines grounded all of their Boeing 787s for safety checks Wednesday after one was forced to make an emergency landing.

The plane, known as the Dreamliner, has been plagued by a series of problems this year, including a battery fire and fuel leaks. Boeing’s stock sank $2.60 to $74.34, a loss of 3 percent.

The Dow fell 23.66 points to close at 13,511.23. Without Boeing’s drop, the Dow would have ended the day nearly flat.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index inched up 0.29 to 1,472.63. A gain in Apple helped pull the Nasdaq composite up 6.77 points to 3,117.54.

Falling stocks outnumbered rising ones on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was relatively light at 3.1 billion shares.

Apple rose $20. 17 to $506.09, ending a three-day slide. The world’s largest publicly traded company closed below $500 on Tuesday for the first time in nearly a year. Concerns that the popularity of its iPhone is waning have pushed Apple’s stock down 5 percent this month.

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, the country’s largest bank, rose after both posted quarterly results that trounced analysts’ estimates.

Harry Clark, chairman of Clark Capital Management Group in Philadelphia, described JPMorgan’s numbers as staggering. The bank’s quarterly earnings jumped 55 percent and total revenue for the year hit $100 billion.

“Their earnings are just ridiculously good,” Clark said. “It shows you that these giants can make money in any type of environment.”

Slightly smaller financial firms, such as Northern Trust and Bank of New York Mellon, reported weaker earnings and their stocks sank.

JPMorgan Chase gained 47 cents to $46.82. The bank’s results were offset by an internal review of a $6 billion trading loss on credit derivatives. JPMorgan’s board of directors criticized executives for failing to keep the board informed of potential problems and using unapproved models for measuring trading risks.

Goldman Sachs gained $5.50 to $141.09, a 4 percent jump. The investment bank’s profits nearly tripled in the fourth quarter of last year. Goldman’s bond underwriting business had its best year since the financial crisis, thanks to strong demand for fixed-income investments and companies lining up to borrow at historically cheap rates.

Analysts forecast that companies in the S&P 500 will report a 3.2 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings. Financial firms and consumerdiscretionary companies are expected to post the biggest growth, according to S&P Capital IQ.

Business, Pages 26 on 01/17/2013

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