The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
burned off more than 108 points at its session low, but was able to
repair this deficit by the closing bell. "Overall, it's been
another day of earnings reports and a lot of company-specific news.
Add it all up, and we have a market that is all over the place,
with several sectors moving in different directions," noted
Schaeffer's Senior Equity Analyst Joe Bell. "A lot of the leaders
are underperforming today, while stocks within the steel and coal
sectors are continuing their strong momentum from the past several
weeks."
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,345.89)
endured a triple-point swing today, touching an intraday peak of
13,368.55 and a session low of 13,235.15. By the close, however,
the blue-chip barometer parked near breakeven, turning in a slim
2.4-point rise, as its 50-day moving average loomed above. Thirteen
of the Dow's 30 components ended in positive territory today, as
Hewlett-Packard Company (
HPQ
) and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (
UNH
) paced the outperformers with gains of 1.6% apiece. Microsoft
Corporation's (
MSFT
) 2.2% pullback was the worst of the 17 losing issues.
Although the
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,433.81)
spent the majority of session mired in red ink, the index managed
to move fractionally higher on the day, running into resistance at
its 50-day trendline. Meanwhile, the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,016.96)
bounced from the 3,000 level in early-afternoon trading , and
settled with a 11.3-point, or 0.4%, rise.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index
(VIX - 16.62)
lost its early momentum and drifted lower by 0.4 point, or 2.6%,
though it kept its perch atop its 80-day moving average.
Today's highlight
: "
Caterpillar Inc. (
CAT
)
was the big earnings report this morning, and the stock responded
relatively well to its mixed showing," said Bell. "Technology is
even playing a little catch-up and outperforming the broad market.
Unfortunately for most sectors, this isn't enough, and we are
seeing a decent amount of weakness across the board."
Noteworthy stats at the close:
- The equity put/call volume ratio across all 10 options
exchanges ended at 0.87, with roughly 7.1 million calls and 6.22
million puts traded.
- The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX
Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX - 34.55) checked in at 0.87,
with calls eclipsing puts.
- The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) showed an advance/decline
ratio of 0.94, as the number of upward movers slightly outpaced
downwardly tilted stocks. In similar fashion, the advance/decline
ratio on the Nasdaq stood at 0.93.
Explore our
Trading Floor Blog
and
Daily Options Blog
for coverage on today's big stories, including:
And, in case you missed it
... call players have converged on
OpenTable Inc (OPEN)
amid rumors of interest from Yahoo! Inc (YHOO).
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Crude futures extended last week's slide, and notched a second
consecutive day in the red on demand concerns. The now-expired
contract for November-dated oil slipped $1.32, or 1.5%, to land at
$88.73 a barrel -- marking the commodity's lowest price since Oct.
3.
Gold futures snapped their losing streak, thanks to a bout of
bargain hunting. Many speculators are staying on the sidelines to
see what comes of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC)
two-day meeting, which ends on Wednesday. By the close,
December-dated gold tacked on $2.30, or 0.1%, to end at $1,726.30
an ounce.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,345.89)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,433.81)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,016.96)
- support at 2,400; resistance at 3,400
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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