US markets finished mixed on Friday with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ending slightly higher while the Dow closed lower due to a fall in energy stocks. Stocks were lifted in the morning after President Bush announced the details of the rescue plan for two auto makers.
The Dow Jones slipped 25.88 points to close at 8,579.11, the S&P 500 rose 2.60 points to end at 887.88. The Nasdaq gained 11.95 points to finish at 1,564.32.
General Motors and Chrysler LLC have been told they will have almost immediate access to $13.4 billion in federal loans. GM will get $9.4 billion, while privately owned Chrysler will get the other $4 billion after both companies said they will be unable to continue operating much beyond early next year without a cash injection. Ford Motor has more cash available and has said they should be able to avoid federal assistance as long as weak car sales do not continue longer than it expects into 2009. GM surged 23% higher while Ford added 3.9%.
Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp continued to fall in line with the price of oil, causing the Dow to finish in negative territory. Exxon slid 2.6% and Chevron fell 3%.
Oracle Corp and Research in Motion helped lift the Nasdaq after reporting quarterly results late on Thursday. RIM jumped 11.4% after its third quarter results came in better than expected and it gave an optimistic outlook for its fourth quarter. Oracle Corp reported second quarter earnings that were in line with estimates and posted a fall in sales that was less than feared. Shares climbed 7% higher, making it the top performer on the Nasdaq 100.
US light crude oil for January delivery dropped $2.35 to $33.87 a barrel. COMEX gold for February delivery lost $23.20 to $834.40 an ounce. Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the 10 year note to 2.12%.
The Nikkei gained 135.26 points to close at 8,723.78 this morning. Financials gained after the Bank of Japan said on Friday that it would buy corporate debt in a bid to ease credit risk and reduce bankruptcies. Mizuho Financial Group, which had more than halved its profit target on bad loan costs, gained 4%.
The Hang Seng dropped 505.12 points to 14,622.39 this morning. In contrast to Japan, financials led stocks lower on concern conditions are worsening for banks after Standard & Poor's gave HSBC Holdings a "negative" outlook.
The FTSE 100 is currently 30.21 points lower at 4,256.72. Mining companies are lower on continued concerns that the global recession will curb earnings. Rio Tinto loses 2.4% after UBS cut its earnings estimate and the company halted production at an iron plant. Rival BHP Billiton is off 3%.