"After disappointing Empire State manufacturing data, the market
finished in the red," said Schaeffer's Senior Equities Analyst Joe
Bell. "Obviously, the big news last week was QE3 and the market's
strong positive reaction. After such a strong run up, it makes a
lot of sense for a little breather today." Although the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
drifted to its first loss in the past five sessions, the index
secured its third consecutive close atop the 13,500 level.
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,553.10)
was off nearly 67 points at its intraday low of 13,526.67. But by
the time the closing bell sounded, the Dow had pared some of its
deficit, giving up 40.3 points, or 0.3%. Nineteen of the 30 blue
chips finished with losses, as Alcoa Inc. (
AA
) and Bank of America Corp (
BAC
) paced the underperformers with 2.6% declines each. On the other
hand, Pfizer Inc. (
PFE
) and AT&T Inc. (
T
) led the winning issues with a 0.9% gains. Microsoft Corporation (
MSFT
) parked at breakeven.
After reaching a roughly five-year peak on Friday, the
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,461.19)
headed south today, retreating 4.6 points, or 0.3%. Meanwhile, the
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,178.67)
faced a similar fate, dropping 5.3 points, or 0.2%, from its
decade-plus high perch.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index
(VIX - 14.59)
turned higher by a tenth of a point, or 0.6%, settling atop the
14.50 mark for a second straight session.
Today's highlight
: "Beneath today's small sell-off, we saw more mergers and
acquisitions activity," noted Bell. "Medical equipment supplier,
IRIS International, Inc. (IRIS)
was up huge after being acquired by Danaher Corporation (DHR). In
recent months, we have seen a
pickup in this type of activity
, which is a good sign for the strength of the market."
Turning to today's major market stories...
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
With tensions mounting in the Middle East, as well as between
China and Japan,
crude oil futures
were in positive territory for most of the session. But in the last
minutes of trading, the commodity took a significant dive on talk
of a release from domestic strategic oil reserves. Against this
backdrop, crude for October delivery lopped off $2.38, or 2.4%, to
close at $96.62 a barrel.
Following a six-month high settlement on Friday, gold futures
buckled today, as speculators took their profits from last-week's
Fed-inspired gains. By the close, December-dated gold slipped
$2.10, or 0.1%, to end at $1,770.60 an ounce.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,553.10)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,461.19)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,178.67)
- 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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