"After a strong breakout
late last week
, the market quickly returned back to form and delivered another
lackluster trading day," said Schaeffer's Senior Equities Analyst
Joe Bell. "While market participants will be keeping an eye on this
Wednesday's meeting of European leaders, the August 31st Fed
meeting will certainly be the next date on the calendar to circle."
Indeed, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
spent most of the session faltering under the breakeven mark.
Keep reading to see what else was on our radar today:
And now, a look at the numbers...
At its lowest point, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,271.64)
was off nearly 45points to an intraday low of 13,230.06. But by the
time the closing bell sounded, the blue-chip barometer had regained
nearly all of its deficit, parking just 3.6 points below breakeven.
Twenty of the 30 components declined, as American Express Company's
(
AXP
) 1.2% tumble paced the underperformers. On the contrary,
Hewlett-Packard Company (
HPQ
) led the 10 winning issues with a 2.9% gain.
Similarly, the
S&P 500 Index
(SPX - 1,418.13)
and
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,076.21)
were little moved by the time the dust settled, notching fractional
losses on the day.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index
(VIX - 14.02)
moved north today, increasing by 4.2%, and settling just atop its
session low of 13.99.
Today's highlight
: "We continue to contend with the former 2012 closing high of
1,422 on the SPX," noted Bell. "The market was able to hold last
week's gains and shrug off a slight bit of weakness this morning,
finishing virtually breakeven today."
Turning to today's major market stories...
- Schaeffer's columnist Frederic Ruffy explained how an
institutional trader hedged their position on the iShares Russell
2000 Index (ETF) (NYSEARCA:IWM) with a
put butterfly spread
.
-
Option Trends
: Harley-Davidson, Inc. (
HOG
), Morgan Stanley (
MS
), and NIKE, Inc. (NKE).
- One options strategist constructed a bull call spread on
VeriFone Systems Inc (PAY)
, while a synthetic long stock strategy was initiated on
The Coca-Cola Company (KO)
.
- Optimistic options players are wagering on a rally for
Waste Management, Inc. (WM)
.
-
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (SWK)
and
Foot Locker, Inc. (FL)
were tapped with analyst adjustments today.
-
Wynn Resorts, Limited (WYNN)
was flooded with a surge in weekly call buying.
-
Highs & Lows
: Apple Inc. (AAPL) became the most valuable U.S. company ever,
while a pair of Internet issues charted new post-IPO
bottoms.
- Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) shareholders could be guarding
their profits with
protective puts
.
- Should contrarians welcome today's
rally in Facebook Inc (
FB
)
? Schaeffer's Equities Analyst Bryan Sapp has more...
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Crude futures
turned lower for the first time in five sessions, as supply
concerns out of the North Sea and the Middle East couldn't quite
offset the negative sentiment fostered by the European Central
Bank's actions to fight the region's debt crisis. Against this
backdrop, oil for September delivery dipped 4 cents to close at
$95.97 a barrel.
On the other hand, gold futures notched a fourth-straight win as
the euro-zone economic strife once again buoyed the precious metal.
As the euro outpaced the dollar, December-dated gold added $3.60,
or 0.2%, to land at $1,623 an ounce.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,271.64)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,418.13)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,076.21)
- 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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