Sears Holdings Corp., which operates Kmart and Sears, Roebuck and Co., eked out a small gain and offered fourth-quarter guidance that’s sharply above Wall Street estimates. Others, including Macy’s Inc. and Limited Brands, raised their profit forecasts.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and commercial hub, has largely been spared the Taliban-linked violence that has struck much of the rest of the country, a fact that analysts believe is driven by the group’s tendency to use it as a place to rest and raise money. But the city has been the scene of frequent ethnic, political and sectarian violence.
On Dec. 28, a bombing against a Shiite Muslim religious procession in the city killed 43 people and wounded dozens. Riots broke out after that attack, with people setting fire to the country’s largest wholesale market. The blaze burned for more than two days and destroyed thousands of shops in the area.
In the first half hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 27.96, or 0.3 percent, to 10,545.72. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2.88, or 0.3 percent, to 1,134.26, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 8.33, or 0.4 percent, to 2,292.76.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, was flat at 3.83 percent from late Wednesday.
The dollar rose against other major currencies, while gold prices fell. A gain in the dollar weighs on commodity prices by making them more expensive for overseas buyers. That hurts energy and materials companies.
0