US markets are down slightly despite the fact that economic
reports were on target or positive. The US trade gap narrowed 3.8%
to $48.68 billion, down from $50.60 billion the month before,
matching analyst expectations. Wholesale inventories also met
analyst predictions, rising 0.3%, but still down from 0.6% in the
prior period. MBA purchase applications rose 3%, up from 1% the
previous period as rates continued to move lower, with 30-year
mortgages averaging just 3.79%, down 7 basis points to a new record
low.
Hopes for another round of quantitative easing are capping
losses Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 31.94 (+0.25%) at
12,620.16.
The NASDAQ Composite is down 14.74 (0.51%) at 2,887.53.
The S&P 500 is down 0.45 (-0.03%) at 1,341.02.
European stocks traded in a tight range as profit warnings from
US companies and concerns over the euro-zone debt crisis kept
stocks down across the board.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced almost $80
billion in austerity measures, in an effort to meet new budget
deficit targets, but news of the cuts was not received well. While
some saw it as a positive move, others saw it as economic suicide.
Details of the draft agreement regarding a Spainish bailout didn't
help matters. According to reports, Spain will give up most of its
control over its banks in exchange for a bailout of up to 100
billion euros.
At the same time, Germany was able to raise cash at record low
borrowing costs, indicating that investors are looking for safe
havens. The DAX is up in return.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index is down 6.40 (-0.11%) to 5,657.67.
The DAX is up 9.35 (+0.15%) to 6,447.68 and the CAC 40 is down
19.93 (-0.63%) to 3,155.48.
Crude oil prices are at $85.30 a barrel, up 1.39. Natural gas is
up 3.8 cents to $2.766 per 1 million BTU. Gold is down 4.9 to
$1,575 an ounce, while silver is up 0.169 to $27.02 an ounce.
Copper is up 0.02 to $3.42 a pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund (
USO
) is up near 3% while the United States Natural Gas (
UNG
) fund is up near 2%. Among precious-metal funds, the Market
Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GMI) is down 1.7% and has hit year lows
while SPDR Gold Shares (
GLD
) are up 0.6%. The iShares Silver Trust (
SLV
) is up 1%.
Here's where the markets stand at mid-day:
NYSE Composite Index up 0.23% (+17.28) to 7,684.41
Dow Jones Industrial Index down 0.23% (-29.33) to 12,623.79
S&P 500 up 0.01% (+0.09) to 1,341.53
Nasdaq Composite Index down 0.47% (-13.72) to 2,888.61
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Nikkei 225 down 0.08% (-6.73) to 8,851.00
Hang Seng Index up 0.12% (+23.51) to 19,419.87
Shanghai China Composite Index up 0.51% (+10.95) to 2,175.38
FTSE 100 is up 0.01% (+0.41) to 5,664.48
NYSE SECTOR INDICES
NYSE Energy Sector Index up 1.16% (+133.85) to 11,693.84
NYSE Financial Sector Index up 0.52% (+22.56) to 4,395.82
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index up 0.15% (+11.39) to 7,408.42
UPSIDE MOVERS
OPTT (+84%) Inked a deal with Lockheed Martin (
LMT
) with the goal of co-developing a 19 megawatt wave-energy project
in Victoria, Australia.
QTWW (+7%) Announced that it has received a $3.8 million
purchase order from a global natural gas vehicle engine and systems
developer for supplying Quantum's carbon composite compressed
natural gas (CNG) storage tanks for a high volume light duty fleet
pickup truck platform.
IPT (+5.2%) Will open two new retail party stores in the Greater
Boston Area.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
HGG (-38.3%, has hit year lows) Downgraded to Hold from Buy at
Stifel Nicolaus.
DNDN (-6.5%) Downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at
BofA/Merrill. Price target was lowered to $6 from $13.
ERJ (-5.5%) Backlog of firm orders have dropped to its lowest
level in six years for Q2