USA: U.S. stocks close lower after a drop in precious metal prices drags mining shares lower. Dell CEO Michael Dell wins shareholder approval of his offer to take the company he founded private

Record ID: 187273

  • Title: USA: U.S. stocks close lower after a drop in precious metal prices drags mining shares lower. Dell CEO Michael Dell wins shareholder approval of his offer to take the company he founded private
  • Date: 12th September 2013
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) (PART MUTE) DELL FOUNDER AND CEO MICHAEL DELL TALKING
  • Embargoed: 27th September 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Business,Finance
  • Reuters ID: LVA941M11BGFSVCZH0MTL1MH6SKQ
  • Story Text: U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday (September 12), ending seven straight days of gains by the S&P 500 index as a drop in precious metal prices dragged mining shares lower.
    Spot gold fell 2.6 percent to $1,331 (USD) an ounce as tensions with Syria eased and on worries the Federal Reserve will begin to scale back its monetary stimulus when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday. Spot silver fell 5 percent to $21.99 an ounce.
    Economic data showed first-time weekly claims for state unemployment benefits, the last major reading on the labor market before the Fed's meeting, fell to the lowest level since 2006, but the picture was incomplete because two states did not process all their claims.
    The materials sector fell 1 percent, with gold miner Newmont Mining off 4.2 percent at $28.23.
    The Dow Jones industrial average was down 25.96 points, or 0.17 percent, at 15,300.64. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 5.71 points, or 0.34 percent, at 1,683.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 9.04 points, or 0.24 percent, at 3,715.97.
    The S&P 500 had risen about 3.4 percent over the prior seven sessions, its longest winning streak in two months, as concerns about a Western military strike against Syria faded.
    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed a Russian plan under which Damascus would give up its arsenal of poison gas and avert a U.S. military strike.
    Some of the focus has shifted to next week's Fed meeting and a news conference, when a decision is expected about whether to cut its $85 billion-a-month purchases of Treasury and mortgage bonds to bolster the economy.
    Economists at a majority of U.S. primary dealers expect the Fed to announce it will cut its bond purchases, according to a recent Reuters poll. (Full Story) Michael Dell clinched shareholders' approval on Thursday for his $25 billion offer to buy and take Dell Inc private, ending months of bitter conflict with the company's largest investors and removing the uncertainty shrouding the world's No. 3 PC maker.
    The company plans to invest in the personal computer and tablet markets, in expanding sales coverage, and in growing its distribution network, founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell said in a conference call after the shareholder vote.
    End-user computing, defined as devices such as PCs and tablets, remains an important focus for the company despite the rapid decline of the global personal computer market, the CEO told reporters briefly, without elaborating or taking questions.
    Dell, who founded the company from a college dorm-room in 1984, and partner Silver Lake fought for months to convince skeptical investors his offer was the best option. This week, he gained the upper hand after one of his staunchest opponents, activist investor Carl Icahn, bowed out of the conflict because he said it was "impossible to win."
    Michael Dell has argued that revamping his company into a provider of enterprise computing services in the mold of IBM is a complex undertaking best performed outside the spotlight of public markets.
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