Stocks finished mixed on Monday as investors reacted to a top-level management shakeup at Boeing Co. while technology shares rose on a higher profit outlook from Qualcomm Inc. and crude oil prices hovered close to $54 a barrel.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.69 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 10,936.86. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 3.19 points, or 0.3 percent, to finish the day at 1,225.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 19.60 points, or 1 percent, to settle at 2,090.21.
Boeing Co. on Monday said it fired CEO Harry Stonecipher after he had an affair with a female executive, something that violated company rules, saying his leadership abilities had been damaged.
Among the tech gainers was Qualcomm Inc., up 5.3 percent after it raised its fiscal second-quarter earnings forecast and also lifted the low end of its expectations for phone chip shipments.
Crude oil futures ended slightly higher Monday, inching closer to $54 a barrel one day after the president of OPEC said that the market is “well supplied.” Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 11 cents to $53.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Among local movers, shares of HomeStore Inc. gained 3.5 percent to close at $2.38 after it said it had finalized the settlement of a class action lawsuit, in which the California State Teachers’ Retirement System accused the Westlake Village-based online real estate company of falsifying financial statements and accounting irregularities. The settlement approved by a Federal District Court judge in March 2004 was valued at $13 million in cash and about $80 million in stock.
International Rectifier Corp. rose 2.9 percent to $47.29 after Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it affirmed the El Segundo-based company’s “BB-” credit rating and revised its outlook to “positive” from “stable,” saying it was recognizing improving operating profitability as the company continues to enrich its product line.
On the down side, shares of 99 Cents Only Stores slumped 7.2 percent to close at $15.26 after the City of Commerce-based discount retail chain announced it has delayed the release of its fourth-quarter financial statement to give the company time to evaluate its lease accounting procedures. The company said in a statement it will announce the timing of the financial statement release at a later date, but gave no details. And 99 Cents Only Stores’ stock was cut to “sell” from “hold” by A.G. Edwards & Sons on Monday.
