"We had a slew of news on the domestic and European fronts
today. Retail sales, manufacturing data, and housing data all
seemed to do pretty well by the market early on," stated
Schaeffer's Senior Equity Analyst Joe Bell. "However, as concerns
about Greece stayed on traders' minds, the ensuing downward
momentum proved to be too much for stocks." After swinging more
than 150 points in intraday action, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
bent to its lowest closing price since Jan. 19.
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
- Wall Street was
clouded by euro-zone turmoil
once again.
- The S&P 500 Index (
SPX
) continued to test
the 1,330 level and its 160-day trendline
.
- Plus, Bell attempted to make heads or tails out of the
JPMorgan Chase (
JPM
) trading crisis
.
And now, a look at the numbers...
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,632.00)
touched a session peak of 12,758.43 around midday, and tumbled to
the 12,608.16 mark in the last hour of trading. Ultimately, it was
a down day, as the Dow slumped 63.4 points, or 0.5%. All but six of
its blue chips finished with losses, as Hewlett-Packard (
HPQ
) and Home Depot (
HD
) led the underperfomers with 2.5% and 2.4% drops, respectively.
JPMorgan Chase (
JPM
) paced the six winning components with a 1.3% gain.
The
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,330.66)
gave up 7.7 points, or 0.6%, by the closing bell, but held its head
atop the 1,330 mark. Meanwhile, the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,893.76)
drifted south by 8.8 points, or 0.3%.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 21.97)
ended a second straight session above 21, inching up 0.5%. The VIX
settled below its session peak of 22.70, and touched its highest
daily close since Jan. 17.
Today's highlight
: Even though Wall Street got a bit of a boost from the
Empire State manufacturing index
and a positive reading on
housing market sentiment
, Bell observed that "not a lot went right today. The early rally
struggled to keep its traction, and we saw a deep sea of red late
in the day. The
key 1,340 and 1,333 levels on the SPX were taken
out
late in the day, and the market's string of losses was prolonged."
Turning to today's major market stories...
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Oil futures tripped to a new low settlement for 2012 today, as
political tensions in Greece and anxieties about the prospects for
global demand continued to pressure the commodity lower. As the
dollar strengthened for yet another session, June-dated crude fell
80 cents, or 0.8%, to land at $93.98 a barrel.
Gold futures also tagged a fresh low for the year, as the
ongoing Greek drama and a surging greenback pulled the
dollar-denominated commodity to its third straight loss. Gold for
June delivery inched lower by $3.90, or 0.3%, to close at $1,557.10
an ounce.
Levels to Watch in Trading
:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,632.00) - support at
11,500; resistance at 14,000
- S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,330.66) - support at 1,100;
resistance at 1,500
- Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,893.76) - 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
Investment Research reviews the trading day in detail, covering
major events and key market developments. Don't miss this
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