NEW YORK—Shares of Moody's Corp. took the biggest hit on the Standard & Poor's 500 index Wednesday, following reports that the credit ratings agency accidentally gave top ratings to billions of dollars in debt instruments.
The S&P 500 lost 1.17 points to 1,412.23.
On Tuesday, the Financial Times reported Moody's assigned a top 'Aaa' rating to billions of dollars' worth of investments known as "constant proportion debt obligations" in 2006 due to a computer error. Shares plunged $6.67, or 15.2 percent, to $37.23.
Shares of McGraw Hill Cos. lost $2.09, or 4.7 percent, to $41.53 after the educational publisher and owner of Standard & Poor's said it would cut 395 jobs in its educational publishing and financial segments, and would book a $14.8 million charge.
Insurer MBIA Inc. slid 42 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $8.67.
Among the gaining stocks, shares of student lender SLM Corp., or Sallie Mae, jumped $1.48, or 7.1 percent, to $22.26. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the Bush Administration plans to add liquidity to the student loan markets using U.S. Treasury funds.
Shares of oil services provider National Oilwell Varco Inc. rose $4.36, or 5.4 percent, to $85.23 after reaching a fresh 52-week high of $86.89 earlier in the session. Oil prices blew past $132 to set a new record on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the Energy Department said crude inventories declined last week.
Intuit Inc. advanced $1.48, or 5.4 percent, to $28.69. The tax software maker said its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 21 percent thanks to a strong tax season.
