"Surprise, surprise, look who's at the door again. It's Europe,"
exclaimed Schaeffer's Senior Equities Analyst Joe Bell. "First, we
got news that Greece may see its aid cut off if it does not meet
its commitments. Then, market participants had to confront rising
yields in Italy and Spain, as debt concerns once again took the
spotlight." With that, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
played catch up today, following a 239-point drop in the first hour
of trading.
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
After touching its session low of 12,583.41 just after the
opening, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,721.46)
attempted a comeback, but ultimately tripped 101.1 points, or 0.8%,
by the time the dust settled. Only six of the 30 blue chips
finished with wins, as JPMorgan Chase & Co. (
JPM
) led the outperfoming issues with a 1.6% gain. On the flip side,
McDonald's Corporation (
MCD
) suffered an earnings-induced 2.9% loss, which topped the list of
the Dow's 24 laggards.
Both the
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,350.52)
and
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,890.15)
endured a nearly identical path as the Dow today, trying to repair
as much of their early deficits as possible. By the close, the SPX
turned in a decline of 12.1 points, or 0.9%, while the COMP fell
35.2 points, or 1.2%. This marked the lowest daily close for these
two indexes in six sessions.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 18.62)
enjoyed a 14.4% rally today, and jumped to an intraday best of
20.49 -- its first foray atop the round-number 20 mark since June
28. The market's fear gauge also scored its loftiest daily close in
nine sessions.
Today's highlight
: "Despite the lackluster news from overseas, the market actually
rebounded quite well from its session lows," remarked Bell. "We
entered a deep sea of red early on and implied volatility indexes
spiked. However, the Dow waged a steady rally throughout the day
and finished 137.7 points off its low."
Turning to today's major market stories...
- Schaeffer's Senior Options Strategist Tony Venosa highlighted
a pair of potential contrarian plays in the
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index Fund
(NYSEARCA:ITB)
.
- Meanwhile, Equities Analyst Bryan Sapp wondered if
this week's plethora of earnings reports
will offset the continued weakness out of Europe.
-
Options Trends
: JDS Uniphase (
JDSU
), Netflix (
NFLX
), and Rackspace Hosting (RAX).
- See how pre-earnings options players are stacking up on
Apple Inc. (
AAPL
)
,
Avon Products, Inc. (AVP)
Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN)
-
Put selling ramped up
on Lamar Advertising Co (LAMR).
- Bullish options speculators see a
long-term rebound for Zynga Inc (ZNGA)
.
-
M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (MDC)
and
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD)
tagged new technical milestones today.
- Tech issues
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (CY)
and
Cree, Inc. (CREE)
were targeted for analyst adjustments today.
- Schaeffer's columnist Adam Warner explained how
post-earnings volatility
directly affected Google Inc (GOOG) options owners.
- Despite its year-to-date deficit, options bulls placed their
bets on a
near-term rally for United States Steel Corporation
(X)
.
- And in case you missed it...
Bernie Schaeffer On Charts
: A Post-Earnings Reality Check on General Electric.
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Crude futures extended
Friday's retreat
, as a bailout for cash-strapped Spain appears to be a growing
possibility. In turn, this has provoked questions about how the
current euro-zone fiscal predicament will weigh on oil's global
demand. As the dollar traded at a two-year high against the euro,
September-dated crude sank $3.69, or 4%, to close at $88.14. This
marked the commodity's largest single-session percentage deficit
since June 21.
After
two consecutive up days
, gold futures finished in the red today on rising euro-zone
anxieties and a strengthening greenback. By the close, gold for
August delivery dipped $5.40, or 0.3%, to land at $1,577.40 an
ounce.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,721.46)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,350.52)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,890.15)
- support at 2,400; resistance at 3,400
Click the links for coverage on today's
notable annual highs
and
notable annual lows
.
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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