-Spain puts bank capital short-fall at 59.3bn euros
-Spanish 10 year bond yields down 1bp to 5.94%
-Bank of America to pay $2.43bn in settlement
-Nike off on China demand concern
-Poor economic data takes its toll
-Personal income well below forecasts (with revisions)
-Chicago PMI at 3 year low

Dow Jones Industrial: -0.33%
Nasdaq Comp.: -0.37%
S&P 500: -0.36%

Wall Street benchmarks are now coming off their lows of the day, which is also the last session of the quarter which has seen the S&P 500 rise just under nine per cent, no mean feat for the Federal Reserve. Perhaps for that reason, some might be thinking that it is a good day to lock in some profits. It must be kept in mind that weakness on the last day of a quarter is sometimes a sign of weakness, given the "window dressing" in which fund managers usually engage.

This after the Spanish government's announcement that the capital needs of the country's financial system amount to just 59.3bn euros. It remains to be seen however if markets will give Madrid a vote of confidence or a "thumbs-down."

Sportswear firm Nike last night announced earnings after the bell which came in ahead of expectations, though it faces the hurdle of slowing growth in China. This is now pressuring its shares.

Bank of America has agreed to a $2.43bn settlement with investors who suffered losses during its acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

Losses reported last night by Research In Motion, the maker of the still popular but no longer market-leading Blackberry smart-phone, were not bad as feared. In fact, its stock is now bouncing back by 9%, surely on a fair bit of "short-covering" no doubt.

Crown Castle agreed to acquire rights to operate 7,200 cellular towers from T-Mobile USA for $2.4bn, giving the carrier's owner Deutsche Telekom cash to invest in its US wireless network.

Weak income numbers

On the macro-economic front, US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) in August were up 0.5%, in line with expectations, after rising 0.4% in July.

However, personal income was up 0.1%, slightly below expectations of a 0.2% increase. The July reading was revised to show a 0.1% gain from 0.3% previously. The personal savings rate fell to 3.7% from 4.1% in July.

The Core PCE index rose 0.1% in August, as expected. Core prices were up 1.6% from a year earlier, versus a 1.3% annual increase in July.

The notoriously volatile regional Chicago NAPM manufacturing sector purchasing managers' index for the month of September has come in at 49.7 (Consensus: 53), after a reading of 53 for the previous month. The new orders sub-index has come in at 47.4 (from 54.8) while the prices paid sub-index has printed a reading of 63.2 (after 57).

The University of Michigan's gauge of consumer confidence for the month of September has come in at 78.3 (Consensus: 79) after the previous month's reading of 79.2. The current situation sub-index fell to 85.7 from 88.3 (Consensus: 88), but the expectations component actually rose; to 73.5 from 73.4 (Consensus: 73). Inflation expectations one and five years out dropped noticeably.

Other asset classes little changed

Front month West Texas crude futures are now down slightly, by 0.10%, to the 91.76 dollar level on the NYMEX.

10 year US Treasuries are now rising by 7/32 dollars, with yields at 1.63%.

S&P 500 - Risers
Accenture Plc (ACN) $69.83 +6.81%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $76.97 +3.32%
Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI) $85.80 +2.50%
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) $19.77 +2.44%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $19.22 +2.26%
Coach Inc. (COH) $55.25 +1.73%
DIRECTV (DTV) $52.82 +1.59%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $69.80 +1.57%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $35.84 +1.30%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $6.09 +1.25%

S&P 500 - Fallers
JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) $12.37 -3.06%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $22.42 -2.99%
E*TRADE Financial Corp. (ETFC) $8.59 -2.94%
Alpha Natural Res (ANR) $6.56 -2.81%
LSI Corporation (LSI) $6.92 -2.81%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $31.10 -2.60%
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) $38.83 -2.51%
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) $31.56 -2.44%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $22.08 -2.43%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $17.25 -2.41%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $19.22 +2.26%
American Express Co. (AXP) $56.82 +0.44%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $206.80 +0.43%
General Electric Co. (GE) $22.75 +0.11%
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $41.20 +0.01%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $91.38 -2.03%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.68 -1.76%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $85.81 -1.28%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $50.22 -1.22%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $29.81 -1.18%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $8.88 -1.06%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.89 -1.06%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $37.97 -0.90%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $40.33 -0.86%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $17.09 -0.78%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $7.84 +9.80%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $76.97 +3.32%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $19.22 +2.26%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $56.85 +2.14%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $116.49 +1.65%
DIRECTV (DTV) $52.82 +1.59%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $69.80 +1.57%
Infosys Technologies Ltd. (INFY) $48.40 +1.40%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $6.09 +1.25%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $13.44 +1.24%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) $23.89 -3.47%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $31.10 -2.60%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $54.45 -1.98%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $63.00 -1.95%
Fossil Inc. (FOSL) $84.71 -1.87%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $62.37 -1.76%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.68 -1.76%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $104.72 -1.67%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $26.62 -1.52%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $492.20 -1.49%

AB

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