In a hard-hitting session, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
spiraled more than 262 points at its intraday low, and retreated to
its lowest settlement in more than a month. "Earnings season
continues to be the main focus for the market and, unfortunately,
it hasn't been that great," remarked Schaeffer's Senior Equity
Analyst Joe Bell. "Throw in some bad news from Moody's concerning
Spain and their economic problems, and you had one of the worst
daily losses in months. Stocks in the basic-materials sector are
definitely getting hit the hardest."
Click through to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,102.53)
was off 262.6 points at its session bottom of 13,083.28, and ended
trading within a stone's throw of this marker. By the time the dust
cleared, the blue-chip barometer burned off 243.4 points, or 1.8%
-- its worst single-session drop since June, and its lowest close
since Sept. 5. Only a pair of the Dow's 30 components saw positive
territory, as Intel Corporation (
INTC
) and Microsoft Corporation (
MSFT
) added 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively. On the other end of the
spectrum, the losing issues were led by E I Du Pont De Nemours And
Co's (
DD
)
earnings-induced deficit
of 9.1%.
The
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,413.11)
and
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,990.46)
suffered similar fates as the Dow, and were mired in the red for
the entire day. The SPX dropped to its lowest level since Sept. 5,
buckling 20.7 points, or 1.4%, by the closing bell. Meanwhile, the
COMP marked its first settlement under the 3,000 mark since Aug. 6,
peeling back 26.5 points, or 0.9%. The tech-rich benchmark also
landed below its 160-day trendline for the first time since July
25.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 18.83)
rallied 2.2 points, or 13.3%, to notch its first daily settlement
atop its 200-day moving average since June 4. Earlier in the day,
the VIX tagged an intraday high of 19.65 -- its loftiest price
since late July.
Today's highlight
: "If you were looking for a positive, the big news today was all
Apple (
AAPL
). The popular tech giant finally released its iPad mini, and the
stock's initial reaction hasn't been all that positive," noted
Bell. "Overall, tech stocks were able to show some relative
strength for the second day in a row, which is a nice change of
pace after weeks of underperformance."
Noteworthy stats at the close:
- The equity put/call volume ratio across all 10 options
exchanges ended at 1.05, with roughly 7.46 million calls and 7.86
million puts traded.
- The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX
Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX - 37.26) checked in at 1.34,
with puts rising above calls.
- The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) showed an advance/decline
ratio of 0.36, as the number of downward movers outpaced upwardly
tilted stocks. In similar fashion, the advance/decline ratio on
the Nasdaq stood at 0.56.
Explore our
Trading Floor Blog
and
Daily Options Blog
for coverage on today's big stories, including:
And, in case you missed it
... These
stocks continue to rally
despite the bearish sentiment against them.
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Crude plummeted to a third consecutive loss today, after the
Keystone pipeline was restarted, which ultimately eased supply
concerns. As the broader-equities market retreated and the U.S.
dollar turned higher, oil for December delivery fell $1.98, or
2.2%, to land at $86.67 per barrel. This marked the lowest close
for crude since July 12.
Likewise, the strengthening greenback and faltering stock
markets weighed on gold futures. On growing concerns for the global
economy, December-dated gold sawed off $16.90, or 1%, to close at
$1,709.40 an ounce -- its worst settlement since Sept. 6.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,102.53)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,413.11)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,990.46)
- support at 2,400; resistance at 3,400
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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