US STOCKSDow SP 500 end flat as commodity shares rally
(Updates to close)
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) - The Dow and S%26amp;P closed
little changed on Monday as soaring commodity prices lifted
shares of mining and energy companies, offsetting a cash
squeeze at a high-profile mortgage lender that raised fears of
more fallout from the housing slump.
The surge in prices of commodities such as oil, gold,
platinum and silver buoyed the shares of natural resources
companies, including Alcoa Inc (AA.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which ended up 3.2
percent, and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), up nearly 1 percent.
But financial shares took a beating after Thornburg
Mortgage Inc %26lt;TMA.N, a high-profile mortgage lender, said it
does not have enough cash to meet its creditors’ demands,
driving its stock down 51.5 percent on concerns it might file
for bankruptcy.
The lender’s woes troubled investors since it specializes
in jumbo mortgages considered among the less risky home
loans.
Souring profit expectations also dragged on bank shares,
pulling Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) down 2.6 percent and Bank of
America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) down 1.4 percent.
U.S. oil futures settled up 61 cents, or 0.6 percent, at
$102.45 per barrel, after earlier hitting an intraday record
at $103.95, and gold inched closer to $1,000 per ounce. The
jump in commodity prices exacerbated inflation concerns.
“There’s not a single stitch of good news out there,” said
Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Equity Markets in
Jersey City, New Jersey. Continued…
