April 19th, 2010
08:15 PM ET

Dow gains, Treasurys down on Goldman news

 A look at highlights from the day's business news:

Dow pulls out a gain

Stocks ended mostly higher Monday as investors set aside some worries about the fallout from Goldman Sachs and scooped up financial, consumer and energy stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 73 points, or 0.6 percent, after having been down by as much as 41 points earlier. The S&P 500 index gained 5 points, or 0.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite ended just below unchanged.

Stocks seesawed through the afternoon as enthusiasm about Citigroup's strong profit report vied with the fallout from Goldman Sachs' fraud charge last week.

Late in trading a published report said the SEC voted narrowly to approve the charges against Goldman, a signal that the case might not be as strong as some in the industry feared. The company reports quarterly results Tuesday.

Goldman Sachs gained 1.6 percent and the KBW Bank sector index rose 1percent. Citigroup shares gained 7 percent following its profit report.

A better-than-expected reading on leading economic indicators was also in play, while the strong dollar hurt commodity shares.

Treasurys down as Goldman news sinks in

Treasurys unwound their earlier rally on Monday, after the news of the fraud charges against Goldman Sachs sank in over the weekend.

What prices are doing: The benchmark 10-year note fell 9/32 to 98-18/32, pushing the yield up to 3.81 percent. The 30-year bond fell 12/32 to 98-27/32, and its yield rose to 4.7 percent

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. The 2-year note fell to 2/32 to 100 with a 1 percent yield. The 5-year note fell to 99-29/32 with a yield of 2.53 percent. 

What's moving the market: After the flurry of activity on Friday, the bond market slowed down on Monday morning. Headlines about the government's fraud charges against Goldman Sachs initially increased investors appetites for "safe-haven" investments like Treasurys, but demand for bonds was more subdued after investors had the weekend to digest the news.

Oil prices slide again

Oil prices tumbled on Monday for the third straight trading day as investors reacted to the fraud charges against Goldman Sachs and the strength of the dollar.

What prices are doing: The contract for June crude oil delivery - the most actively traded on Monday - fell $1.54 to settle at $83.13 a barrel. The May contract, which expires Tuesday, fell $1.79, or about 2 percent, to settle at $81.45 a barrel.

Prices had meandered within a tight range for weeks before Friday's fraud charges against Goldman Sachs help send them down 3percent in a day. Though down nearly 4 percent over the past week to their lowest levels since early March, crude prices were still 61 percent higher than a year ago.    

What's moving the market: Prices continue to reel over the Goldman case and the stronger dollar.

Dollar rises on risk aversion

The dollar gained strength against major rivals Monday, as stocks churned on continued concern about fraud charges brought against Goldman Sachs.

What prices are doing: The dollar gained ground against the euro, rising 0.1percent to $1.3487. The greenback rose 0.2 percent against the British pound, trading at $1.5337.

The dollar was up 0.2 percent versus the yen at ¥92.37.

What's moving the market: U.S. stocks churned Monday, after the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday charged Goldman Sachs with defrauding investors. On Friday, the blue-chip Dow lost 1.1 percent while the broader S&P 500 plunged 1.6 percent.

 CNNMoney.com’s Julianne Pepitone, Chavon Sutton, Annalyn Censky and Alexandra Twin contributed to this report.

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