– National
Stocks fell on Wednesday as financial and homebuilding shares declined amid worries about rising interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.95, or 0.4 percent, to 10,810.91. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 6.33, or 0.5 percent, to 1,257.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 8.75, or 0.4 percent, to 2,252.01.
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– Local
Local movers were led by Herbalife Ltd., which rose 3.1 percent to $30.25, and National Mercantile Bancorp, which gained 4.6 percent to $19.50. On the down side, shares of J2 Global Communications Inc. fell 3.8 percent to $44.28 and Occidental Petroleum Corp. dipped 1.4 percent to $82.60.
Shares of homebuilders KB Home and Ryland Group fell 3.4 percent to $68.27 and 2.7 percent to $71.40, respectively after two reports offered the latest signs of a slowdown in the nation’s housing boom. The UCLA Anderson Forecast predicted that California’s economy will slow next year, led by a downturn in real estate and construction jobs, but that there is little chance of a recession. And the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Housing Sector Index slipped 2.1 percent. The index has fallen 13 percent since peaking in July.
Center Financial Corp. rose 6.3 percent to $25.15 after the stock rating for the L.A.-based holding company for Center Bank was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” by research firm Hoefer & Arnett.
Walt Disney Co. rose 0.6 percent to $25.67 after NASCAR agreed to an eight-year, $4.48 billion television deal to split its 36-race schedule among the Burbank-based entertainment giant’s ABC/ESPN, Fox and TNT beginning in 2007.
