It was another wild ride for the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
today, as a slew of domestic data kept buyers sidelined. "The day
started off with initial jobless claims that sent the four-week
moving average of this figure to its highest level since December
2011," said Schaeffer's Senior Equity Analyst Joe Bell. "The
Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index also came in much worse than
expected, and existing home sales once again declined. Rumors also
surfaced that Moody's downgrade of global banks was imminent, which
just added to the negative news on the day."
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
- See what
major round-number area
Bernie Schaeffer is
tracking for European stocks
.
-
Time to buy?
: Is the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (
SPY
) showing something bullish?
- Plus, did Moody's expected downgrade
trigger a massive volatility play
in the financial sector?
And now, a look at the numbers...
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,573.57)
was only able to keep its head above breakeven for a few moments
this morning, before tumbling 250.8 points, or nearly 2%, in one of
its worst daily performances in 2012. All but two of the Dow's 30
components notched losses, as Alcoa (
AA
) and Hewlett-Packard (
HPQ
) paced the long line of laggards with deficits of 4.2% and 4.1%,
respectively. Meanwhile, Merck (
MRK
) closed with a 0.6% rise and Verizon (
VZ
) inched fractionally higher.
The
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,325.51)
stayed south for a second straight session, lopping off 30.2
points, or 2.2%. Turning in the worst performance of its peers, the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,859.09)
ended its five-day winning streak with a 71.4-point, or 2.4%,
dive.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 20.08)
inched above the 20 level just before the closing bell today,
jumping 16.5%. The VIX ended below its session peak of 20.48, and
marked its first settlement atop 20 since last week.
Today's highlight
: "There just wasn't much for investors to cheer about today,"
stated Bell. "After a decent rally earlier this week, the bulls
were nowhere to be found, and massive selling quickly became the
theme for today."
Turning to today's major market stories...
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Oil futures prolonged their recent dive today, plummeting to
their lowest price since October, and marking their worst
percentage drop since December. Oversupply concerns, coupled with a
batch of lackluster data -- including weekly jobless claims,
existing home sales, and a disappointing Philly Fed manufacturing
report -- weighed heavily on black gold. And as the greenback grew
stronger, crude for August delivery sank $3.25, or 4%, to end at
$78.20 a barrel.
Suffering a similar fate, gold futures slipped to their lowest
price since late May at the hands of a buoyed dollar, weak domestic
data, and ongoing concerns of a
global economic slowdown
. By the close, August-dated gold hacked off $50.30, or 3.1%, to
close at $1,565.50 an ounce. This marked the malleable metal's
biggest percentage loss since early April.
Levels to Watch in Trading
:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,573.57) - support at
11,500; resistance at 14,000
- S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,325.51) - support at 1,100;
resistance at 1,500
- Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,859.09) - support at 2,400;
resistance at 3,400
For today's notable annual highs and lows,
click here
.
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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