The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
endured some wishy-washy action today, but the net result was very
slight as the closing bell sounded. "There's an old saying that you
never short a dull market, well, this is about as dull a market as
you'll ever find," suggested Schaeffer's Senior Technical
Strategist Ryan Detrick. "At the same time, I continue to think the
market is simply catching its breath before it surges higher.
Markets can correct in price or in time. Well, this one sure isn't
correcting in price, and for this reason, the recent sideways
action can be seen as a correction in time. All in all, though,
things still look good."
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,164.78)
stood on either side of breakeven today, but ultimately turned
lower for the day, giving back 7.4 points, or roughly 0.1%. Yet,
the Dow still racked up an eighth consecutive settlement atop
13,100. Sixteen of the 30 blue chips solidified wins today, as Bank
of America Corp (
BAC
) paced the outperformers with a 1.2% rise. Intel Corporation (
INTC
) and Merck & Co., Inc. (
MRK
) led the 14 laggards with losses of 0.8% apiece.
On the other hand, the
S&P 500 Index
(SPX - 1,405.53)
and
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,030.93)
climbed into the green today. While the SPX inched up by 1.6
points, or 0.1%, the tech-rich COMP jumped nearly 14 points, or
0.5%, enjoying the best performance of its fellow benchmarks.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index
(VIX - 14.63)
dipped 1.5% today, and found a perch just above its session low of
14.36. The VIX has now closed below the 15 mark for four straight
days.
Today's highlight
: "The key to today's market can be found on the beaches of the
East Coast. That's because that's where all of Wall Street is right
now," smiled Detrick. "We had another extremely low-volume day,
with very little movement. Not much more to say other than this is
what usually happens in August. Don't worry, it'll end soon
enough."
Turning to today's major market stories...
- Schaeffer's Senior Options Strategist Tony Venosa suggested
restraint when it comes to
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (
LVS
)
- The latest
Investors Intelligence (II) sentiment survey
revealed an uptick in pessimism last week.
- Analysts adjusted their positions on a
pair of blue-chip names
and a
couple of wireless telecom providers
.
- Near-term option speculators bet on an upswing for
EMC Corporation (
EMC
)
, but think a short-term slide is in store for
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS)
.
- Sector peers
Staples, Inc. (SPLS) and Office Depot Inc
(ODP)
plummeted to new lows today.
- Ahead of earnings, front-month put writing spiked on
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT)
, while call activity revved up on
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (KORS)
.
-
Option Trends
: Arch Coal, Inc. (ACI), Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK), and
Coinstar, Inc. (CSTR).
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Following data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA)
that showed a bigger-than-projected drop in weekly crude supplies,
oil futures leapt to their highest price in three months. The
commodity also got a boost from increasing tensions in the Middle
East. Against this backdrop, September-dated oil tacked on 90
cents, or 1%, to settle at $94.33 a barrel.
Gold futures reversed their two-session pullback today, as the
commodity was buoyed by sentiment that the macroeconomic picture
will deter the Federal Reserve from implementing a stimulus
package. By the close, gold for December delivery gained $4.20, or
0.3%, to close at $1,606.60 an ounce.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,164.78)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,405.53)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,030.93)
- support at 2,400; resistance at 3,400
Click through to read coverage of today's
notable annual highs and lows
.
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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