"It was a boring Monday on Wall Street, with very little
activity," noted Schaeffer's Senior Technical Strategist Ryan
Detrick. "Everyone is positioning and getting ready for Fed
Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech at Jackson Hole later this week."
Try as it may, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
could keep its head above breakeven, and pared Friday's
triple-point gain by a noticeable margin.
Click through to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,124.67)
burned off its 18.2-point intraday best and tumbled 33.3 points, or
0.3%, when the closing bell sounded. Twenty out of the 30 blue
chips saw red, with Hewlett-Packard Company's (
HPQ
) 2.1% loss leading the way. Cisco Systems Inc. (
CSCO
) paced the 10 winning issues with a 0.8% gain.
Meanwhile, the
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,410.44)
followed the Dow into negative territory and the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,073.19)
eked out a victory. The SPX inched lower by 0.7 of point, or 0.05%,
while the COMP tacked on 3.4 points, or 0.1%.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index
(VIX - 16.35)
advanced 7.7% to close just below its intraday high of 16.38. The
VIX marked its loftiest daily settlement since Aug. 2.
Today's highlight
: "I loved seeing continued mergers-and-acquisition activity," said
Detrick. "With both Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (
DTG
) and Kenexa Corporation (
KNXA
) being bought out for significant premiums, this is a sign that
companies are getting the financing that is needed for big deals.
But just as importantly, companies are showing the confidence to
get out there and make these deals happen."
Turning to today's major market stories...
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Although up earlier in the session, oil futures sank for a third
consecutive day, as Tropical Storm Isaac appears to pose less of a
threat to Gulf Coast oil refineries than was first projected. By
the close, crude for October delivery dipped 68 cents, or 0.7%, to
settle at $95.47 a barrel. On the other hand, gasoline rallied, as
investors readied for supply disruptions caused by the storm. With
that, gasoline's September-dated contract leapt 8 cents, or 2.5%,
to finish at $3.15 a gallon.
Gold futures trekked higher for a
third straight day
on hopes that Friday's speech by Fed Chairman Bernanke will offer a
better -- and hopefully more likely -- picture of when another
round of quantitative easing will be implemented. December-dated
gold gained $2.70, or 0.2%, to end at $1,675.60 an ounce.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,124.67)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,410.44)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,073.19)
- support at 2,400; resistance at 3,400
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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