Consumer prices fell in October raising new worries about deflation that may hurt corporate earnings. Meanwhile, new housing starts dropped to a record low. The broad market was mostly lower, but the Dow added 21 points to 8445 while Nasdaq rose 4 points to 1487.
On the upside
Home Depot (NYSE: HD) posted 3rd quarter results that beat expectations. Analysts promptly upgraded the stock and that of rival Lowe's (NYSE: LOW).
Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) reported lower sales and profits due to legal expenses and unfavorable currency rates. However, analysts remained optimistic about the medical device maker's outlook.
An analyst upgraded Sanderson Farms (Nasdaq: SAFM) with chicken prices expected to recover.
On the downside
Shares of Citigroup (NYSE: C) fell to another multi-year low after an analyst warned of wider losses. The banking giant also announced plans to buy $17.4 billion of assets held by structured investment vehicles that it advised.
Auto makers continued to make their case to persuade Congress to lend $25 billion. Shares of General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) fell to multi-decade lows.
Arbitron (NYSE: ARB) lost a contract with two radio broadcasters that would affect its ability to meet revenue targets.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 2 points to 445.
