The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
traded in positive territory several times today, but headed south
after lunchtime, finding its first loss in the past five sessions.
"Say what you want about technology lagging today. The reality is,
tech has performed poorly for nearly a month now," noted
Schaeffer's Senior Technical Strategist Ryan Detrick. "What stood
out to me is that housing once again bucked the trend and had a
good day. Some wise advice that is easier said than done is to play
the trends until they don't work anymore." Ryan continued, "My
friends, tech is going down and housing is going up. I have no clue
how that will end, but it's reality. And as traders, it's our job
to trade the major trends."
And now, a look at the numbers...
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,548.94)
AXP
TRV
PG
Both the
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,457.34)
and
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,072.87)
turned lower today, ending a their three-session uptrend. The SPX
slipped 3.6 points, or 0.2%, while the COMP retreated 31.3 points,
or 1%. This worst performance of three benchmarks was highlighted
by Google Inc's (
GOOG
) "premature" earnings release.
The
CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 15.03)
edged south by 0.3%, but bounced from its session low of 14.68.
Today's highlight
: When asked what topped today's market headlines, Detrick answered
with a smirk, "Gee, I have no clue. Maybe Google dropping a total
bomb on the head of an unsuspecting market during the lunch hour?
Yeah, that is probably the headline from today's trading."
Noteworthy stats at the close:
- The equity put/call volume ratio across all 10 options
exchanges ended at 0.78, with 8.9 million calls traded today,
versus 7 million puts.
- The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX
Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX - 32.88) -- which tagged
another split-adjusted record low of 32.48 -- checked in at 1.46,
with puts easily trumping calls.
- The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) showed an advance/decline
ratio of 0.93, signaling the number of upward movers was eclipsed
by decliners. Meanwhile, the advance/decline ratio of 0.45 on the
Nasdaq confirmed that the number of upward movers was more than
doubled by the declining stocks.
Explore our
Trading Floor Blog
and
Daily Options Blog
for coverage on today's big stories, including:
And, in case you missed it
... Semiconductor stocks could be the key to a reversal in
recent tech-sector weakness
.
For today's activity in commodities, options, and more, head
to page 2.
Once again, oil futures didn't travel very far from breakeven
today, as speculators contemplated global demand concerns amid
economic data from the U.S. and China. Crude for November delivery
inched fractionally lower, giving up 2 cents and closing at $92.10
a barrel.
Gold futures notched a loss today, on a strengthening dollar and
weakness in the broader equities market. Concerns about Germany and
France's commitment to the economically challenged euro zone also
kept the malleable metal in the red. December-dated gold fell
$8.30, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,744.70 an ounce.
Levels to watch in trading...
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,548.94)
- support at 11,500; resistance at 14,000
-
S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,457.34)
- support at 1,100; resistance at 1,500
-
Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 3,072.87)
- support at 2,400; resistance at 3,400
At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
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