Market Wrap: Yahoo! Says Adieu; European Data Hurts; Goldi-flops; AIG Shines

Market wrap-up for April 4th

End of the Day: Dow Jones down 124.8 to 13,074.75; Nasdaq down 45.5 to 3,068.09; S&P 500 down 14.4 to1,398.96

The following is a brief summary of events moving markets today:

• Europe is back at it: Traders turned their focus to a few bits of data from across the pond. Spain auctioned off €2.589 billion ($3.43 billion) of bonds at a yield of 2.712 percent, a level near the bottom of the expected range and with a yield at its highest since January 9th.
  
  In addition, Markit's Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 49.1 in March, now falling six of the last seven months.
  
  
• Yer outta here!: Largely expected, Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) announced the layoff of 2,000 employees, amounting to 14 percent of its total staff. No department is safe from cuts and Yahoo! seeks to benefit from about $375 million in annual savings. Yahoo! will also recognize the largest part of a $125 million to $145 million non-cash charge in the second quarter.
  
  Third Point's Dan Loeb said late Wednesday he was disappointed the layoffs came before a strategic plan was laid out. Loeb's Third Point is Yahoo!'s largest outside shareholder and has been pushing for drastic management changes at Yahoo! for about a year.
  
  
• "Must. Sell. Gold. Value. Diminishing" - traders: Gold fell 3.5 percent to a 12-week low as traders and investors evaluated their positions on the prospect of an early exit to easy money policies. FOMC minutes suggested there wouldn't be any immediate QE action, though interest rates might rise a little bit earlier than previously expressed.
  
  Silver -- gold's plucky counterpart -- slipped 6.7 percent Wednesday as the metal generally trades less, making its movement more volatile.
  
  
• AIG takes a walk down Princess Street on NY Fed move: American International Group (NYSE: AIG) was the bright spot in the financials today, closing up 5.3 percent to $32.52 following reports the New York Fed was looking to unload its Maiden Lane III holdings. The move signals improving markets as well as success in its Maiden Lane II effort.
  
  Many other financials ended the session about 2 percent lower.
  
  
• More bullish jobs data: The latest ADP National Employment Report showed that the private sector added 209,000 jobs in March. This was slightly above the 206,000 additions expected.
  
  Estimated gains for previous months were revised higher; the gain from December to January was revised up by 9,000 to 182,000, and the gain from January to February was revised up by 14,000 to 230,000.
  
  For more color on the report, click here.

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