Posted at 12:40 p.m., Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Hawaii stock index drops on investor disappointment
Advertiser Staff
The Bloomberg-Honolulu Advertiser Hawai'i Index fell as local banks logged declines and as markets nationally declined on investor disappointment with the Federal Reserve's rate cut.The 11-member stock index fell 2.4 points to 97.48 as five stocks fell, five rose and one remained unchanged.
Leading the decliners was Bank of Hawaii, which fell $3.32 to $50.13 after a financial analyst downgraded its shares. Central Pacific Financial was off 6.8 percent, or $1.49, to $20.51.
The Dow Jones Industrials average was down 295 points. Some investors were expecting policymakers would cut rates for a third straight time, though there was debate over the size of the cut. Most economists had been expecting a quarter-point cut in the benchmark federal funds rate to 4.25 percent — but some investors were hoping for a half-point cut in the Fed's last meeting this year, and their disappointment took the market lower.
Kona-based Cyanotech rose 16 percent, or 19 cents, to $1.36 to lead gainers.
