Analytics, News, and Forecasts for CFD Markets: stock news — 12-04-2011.

NYMEX May light sweet crude holds at $106.00 per barrel, down from an earlier high of $110.24 as well as Monday's peak at $113.46, which was the highest level seen since Sept 2008. A close below $106.95, the prior 2011 high posted March 7 would be deemed bearish for the front contract.

Stocks continue to descend deeper into negative territory. The slide has taken both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite below their 50-day moving averages to new two-week lows. The Dow is also at an April low, but it has yet to come in contact with its 50-day moving average.
Although weakness is widespread, participants continue to make the most concerted push against energy stocks, which are now down 3.3%. There isn't a single stock in the sector that has managed to put together any kind of a gain.

Stocks have extended their morning slide so that the Dow is now down 100 points.
Energy stocks continue to cast the heaviest weight on broad market trade. The sector is now down 2.5% as integrated oil and gas plays like Dow components Exxon Mobil (XOM 83.35, -1.81) and Chevron (CVX 104.77, -3.01) and service plays like Baker Hughes (BHI 66.89, -2.42) and Schlumberger (SLB 86.64, -2.16) succumb to sharp selling pressure.
Of the major sectors, health care is a top performer. The sector's 0.2% gain is underpinned by strength in health care facilities stocks. Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC 6.70, +0.26) is actually up 4%.

U.S. stocks were headed for a weak open Tuesday, after Cisco announced impending job cuts, and Japanese officials raised the threat level at the Fukushima nuclear plant to the same as Chernobyl.

On Monday, U.S. stocks gave up an early advance and closed little changed, as investors look toward corporate reports due throughout the week.
Companies: Cisco Systems announced that it was taking a restructuring charge of $300 million, as it prepared to reduce its staff by 550 workers. Cisco (CSCO) shares dipped 1% on the news.
Alcoa (AA) kicked off earnings seasons with a first-quarter profit that beat estimates, but shares fell 3.3% in premarket trading, because the aluminum maker missed forecasts on revenue.
Economy: The Commerce Department released data on the U.S. trade balance for February, showing that the deficit narrowed to $45.8 billion, the gap was slightly more than expected.
Economists expected the report to show the trade deficit narrowed slightly to $45.7 billion, down from $46.3 billion in January.
World markets:

Oil for May delivery fell 29 cents to $109.63 a barrel.
Gold futures for June delivery fell $1.50 to $1,466.60 an ounce.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 3.53% from 3.57% late Monday.