"This morning, overseas weakness out of Europe put a damper on
U.S. equities," remarked Schaeffer's Senior Equities Analyst Joe
Bell. "Utilities and consumer staples were strong, though, as
investors sought defensive stocks. Shares of homebuilders started
off strong thanks to Lennar Corporation's (
LEN
) earnings report, but quickly reversed and showed relative
weakness throughout the day." In fact, except for a stint in
positive territory in the last 90 minutes of trading, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
wallowed in red ink for most of the session.
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
Near the end of the session, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,558.92)
battled to maintain its last-minute rally, but to no avail. By the
time the closing bell sounded, the Dow backpedaled 20.6 points, or
roughly 0.2%, paring most of its 57.8-point intraday deficit.
Eleven out of the 30 blue chips climbed higher, with Pfizer Inc.'s
(
PFE
) 1% rise leading the way. Conversely, Hewlett-Packard Company
(HPQ) paced the 18 underperforming issues with a 2.2% drop.
McDonald's Corporation (MCD) remained unchanged.
The
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,456.89)
was positive for only a few brief moments this afternoon, but
ultimately ended the trading day with a 3.3-point, or 0.2%, loss.
Meanwhile, the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,160.78)
fared the worst of its fellow benchmarks, retreating 19.2 points,
or 0.6%, to mark its heftiest drop in two weeks.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index
(VIX - 14.15)
shot to the 15.06 mark this morning -- its highest price since
Sept. 13 -- but gave back most of this lead by the close, turning
in a 1.2% increase.
Today's highlight
: "Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone 5 weekend sales results were tallied
and came in much worse than expected," noted Bell. "Sales of just
over 5 million were below estimates, but not due to lack of demand.
It seems AAPL did not meet the demand with enough supply, creating
a lot more waiting time for those coveting the next hot item."
Turning to today's major market stories...
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Crude futures drifted to their lowest price since Aug. 3 on
heightened anxieties about the health of the euro-zone economy and
a rising U.S dollar. November-dated crude knocked off 96 cents, or
1%, to close at $91.93 a barrel.
Concerns about the euro zone's fiscal stability also weighed on
gold futures, which turned lower today after rising to a near
seven-month high on Friday
. As investors took their profits and the greenback strengthened,
gold for December delivery slipped $13.40, or 0.8%, to land at
$1,764.60 an ounce.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,558.92)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,456.89)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,160.78)
- support at 2,400; resistance at 3,400
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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