Party City, the largest U.S. party goods chain, tumbled US$2.96, or 26 percent, to US$8.61. The company reported a slight increase in fiscal second-quarter income but warned that full-year results would fall short of Wall Street estimates.
Pixar Animation Studios Inc sank US$2.71, or 5 percent, to US$51.70. The company posted fourth-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street estimates but said it might not renew its existing movie distribution deal with Walt Disney Co and had begun to talk with other studios.
Cigna Corp, one of the biggest US health insurers, provided one bright spot, surging 10 percent after it said its quarterly net income sank 75 percent under the weight of charges, but still managed to beat Wall Street expectations for the quarter. It climbed US$3.80 to US$43.02.
Corning Inc, the world's No. 1 fiber-optic cable maker, on Friday forecast a return to profitability in the third quarter and said its first-quarter loss would be narrower than expected. It jumped US$0.37 cents, or 9 percent, to US$4.57.
Scios Inc spiked US$7.51, or 22 percent, to US$42.20 and was among the most active stocks on the New York Stock Exchange after the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that drugmaker Johnson & Johnson is in advanced talks to buy the biotechnology company. J&J dipped US$0.28 to US$51.84.
Tech Data Corp sank US$4.74, or 20 percent, to US$19.50. The company said it had offered to buy technology distributor Azlan Group PLC for US$235 million and warned that its fiscal 2004 profit would dip due to "uncertain demand." Tech Data is the second-biggest distributor of computer products behind Ingram Micro Inc, which was down US$1.86, or 16 percent, to US$9.52.
At the 5pm close, two-year notes had risen 2/32 in price taking yields to 1.63 percent from 1.66 percent on Thursday. The 10-year note gained 3/32, yielding 3.93 percent from 3.95 percent.
The euro was unchanged at US$1.0822, while the dollar rose to
20.29 from 119.85 late Thursday.
US crude futures hit US$35.25 a barrel -- the highest level since November 2000 -- before settling up US$0.96 at US$35.12. London crude oil hit US$32.50 per barrel, also a two-year high, and closed up US$0.90 at US$32.34.
Overseas, London's FTSE 100 benchmark index closed up 2.2 points at 3,599.2. In Tokyo, the Nikkei average finished 0.42 percent lower at 8,448.16. On the week, the Nikkei eked out a slight gain of 1.30 percent.
RSS