"After the
S&P 500 Index (SPX)
gained for six straight sessions, a little pause was well
deserved," said Schaeffer's Senior Technical Strategist Ryan
Detrick. "Still, considering the losses were muted, you have to
hand it to the bulls for hanging tough yet again." After falling 95
points to an intraday low of 13,112.94, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
battled back for a slimmer loss on the day.
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,169.43)
saw a sixth consecutive settlement atop 13,100, but ultimately
closed lower on the day. By the closing bell, the blue-chip
barometer lopped off 38.5 points, or 0.3%. All but five components
turned south today, as Alcoa Inc. (
AA
) led the 25 losers with a 1.7% slide. American Express Company (
AXP
) paced the outperformers with a 0.5% rise.
The
S&P 500 Index's
(SPX - 1,404.11)
string of six straight wins came to an end with today's narrow
loss, though the index kept its perch above 1,400. For the session,
the SPX slipped 1.8 points, or 0.1%. On the other hand, the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,022.52)
climbed to a minor victory, notching a second consecutive day atop
3,020 for the tech-rich benchmark.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index
(VIX - 13.70)
dropped 7.1% today, and landed just above its session low of 13.67.
This marked the VIX's lowest close since June 2007.
Today's highlight
: "I'm looking forward to tomorrow," noted Detrick. "With retail
sales on tap, we have potential market-moving news that could
trigger some volatility. Given this has been a rather sleepy market
over the past week or so, some movement would be a nice change to
wake up market participants."
Turning to today's major market stories...
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
A sluggish session also ended poorly for gold futures, as the
malleable metal reversed its recent three-day upswing today. By the
close, December-dated gold gave up $10.20, or 0.6%, to end at
$1,612.60 an ounce.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,169.43)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,404.11)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,022.52)
- support at 2,400; resistance at 3,400
Click through to read coverage of today's
notable annual highs and lows
.
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