NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks were losing momentum in late-morning trading Monday, adding to a major sell-off last week that put caution back into the market. The losses were held in check by two pieces of positive news: a decent earnings report from Berkshire Hathaway and the announcement of a bailout package for a struggling Portuguese bank.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 40 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,453 as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost three points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,922 and the Nasdaq composite fell five points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,348.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX fell 0.4 percent and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.4 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.8 percent.
PORTUGESE BANK RESCUE: Portugal’s central bank said late Sunday it will rescue the ailing bank Banco Espirito Santo, one of the country’s biggest financial institutions. The bank’s woes were a major reason European markets fell last week. Portugal’s PSI 20 index rose 1 percent on the news.
BUFFETT’S BIG PAYDAY: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway rose $2.17, or 2 percent, to $128.01. Berkshire reported a profit of $6.4 billion last quarter, helped by its insurance division Geico, which performed well above Wall Street’s expectations. Berkshire’s investment portfolio was also a big driver of profits last quarter.