Right out of the gate this morning, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
buckled some 58 points, and spent the remainder of day trying to
get dig out of negative terrain. "Most sectors started trading deep
in the red, but worked their way back near breakeven by the end of
the session," noted Schaeffer's Senior Equities Analyst Joe Bell.
"With many participants staying home for the Columbus Day holiday,
it was very quiet on the Street."
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,583.65)
HD
UNH
KO
Elsewhere, the
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,455.88)
and
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,112.35)
followed similar paths, but suffered deeper slides than the Dow.
The SPX slipped 5.1 points, or 0.4%, yet the index maintained a
foothold atop its 20-day moving average and the 1,450 level.
Meanwhile, the COMP sawed off 23.8 points, or roughly 0.8%, parking
atop its 40-day trendline.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index
(VIX - 15.11)
rallied 0.8 point, or 5.4%, settling back above the 15 level and
its 20-day moving average.
Today's highlight
: "Consumer discretionary stocks did quite well, and
Netflix, Inc. (
NFLX
)
soared more than 10% after a big analyst upgrade," noted Bell. "The
coal sector also did quite well on a day when there wasn't much
going on."
Turning to today's major market stories...
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Down for a second session in a row, crude futures turned south
on the heels of the World Bank's lowered economic growth forecast
for China. While speculators chewed on the possibility of lagging
global demand for the commodity, crude for November delivery dipped
55 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $89.33 a barrel.
This anxiety also weighed on gold futures today, knocking the
malleable metal to a second straight loss. As the dollar bounced
higher, December-dated gold trimmed $5.10, or 0.3%, to settle at
$1,775.70 an ounce.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,583.65)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,455.88)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,112.35)
- support at 2,400; resistance at 3,400
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