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Market Wrap: When's Greece's Strike Three?; BofA Sinks Lower; AMR and Eastman Still Solvent; Selling Cars 101: Make Gas Cheap

October 3, 2011 5:27 PM EDT
Market wrap-up for October 3rd.

End of the Day: Dow Jones down 258 to 10,655.30; Nasdaq down 79.56 to 2,335.83; S&P 500 down 32 to 1,099.23

The following is a brief summary of events moving markets today:
  • Well, at least it's not 10 percent, right?: Stocks end lower Monday as Greece said it would miss deficit targets for this year, rekindling fears of further credit crunch in Europe. Greek officials believe Greece's deficit will be closer to 8.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), above the 7.6 percent goal set by the IMF, EU, and ECB. Bloomberg notes the cost to insure against default on European corporate debt rose to nearly a three-year high.

    European debt officials will discuss on how to protect banks from exposure to distressed debt as well as boost the euro zone's rescue fund.

  • Wait, gas is cheap now?: Ford Motor (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) reported increases in September sales. Total sales for Ford rose 9 percent, while GM sales ripped 20 percent higher. Notably, larger SUVs and trucks saw strong demand in the month.

  • U.S. puts the "man" back into manufacturing: The Institute for Supply Management's factory index climbed from 50.6 in August to 51.6 in September. Economists were looking for a little contraction to 50.5 for the month. Amid the early boost stocks got on the news, markets closed lower as European debt reared its head.

  • Bettin' the house: Sprint (NYSE: S) took a dive following reports it has committed to buy 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years. At current rates, that leaves Sprint on the hook for $20 billion or so. One analyst said the commitment makes sense, since Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone draws in higher-spending customers.

    Sprint shares have fallen over 35 percent in 2011, and has reported a loss for 15 consecutive quarters.

  • The market doesn't lie: AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) shares were slammed Monday afternoon following talks the company's unit, American Airlines, may file for bankruptcy. AMR has since denied the rumor.

    Similarly, Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) closed 72 percent stronger as it also rebuffed talks of entering bankruptcy, which sprouted late last Friday.

  • Just when you think it can't go any lower: Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) traded below $6 -- and kept going -- for the first time since the financial crisis in 2009. Specifically, the last time BofA stock got below $5.55 per share was March 12, 2009, when the stock reached $4.84.
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