Stocks have trimmed earlier losses, with gains for the energy and consumer sectors lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 slightly above their respective break-even marks. But the Nasdaq Composite index was still languishing underwater because of weakness among biotech and technology stocks.
Early weakness associated with losses in Europe and Asia dissipated soon after today's opening bell, magnified by intact technical supports of 17,700 for the Dow and 2,070 for the S&P, along with upbeat data on job openings and wholesale trade.
According to a monthly survey by the Labor Department, there were 5.376 million job openings in April, a 15-year high and coming in well above estimates for 5.038 million. The prior month also was revised higher as well, to 5.109 million from the 4.99 million initially reported.
Inventory accumulation continued to accelerate with wholesale inventories up 0.4% in April, beating the consensus estimate of +0.3%. With sales gaining 1.6%, the inventory to sales ratio dropped to 1.29 in April from 1.30 the month prior.
European markets ended Tuesday in the red for the sixth consecutive day as pressure on EU-zone bond markets and a lack of progress towards Greece drove Germany's DAX below 11,000 for the first time in four months. Although Greece submitted a new reform package to the European Commission, sources close to the negotiations told Bloomberg that the measures are unlikely to be approved as it does not address the country's bloated pension program.
Crude oil was up $1.94 to $60.08 per barrel. Natural gas was up 12 cents to $2.83 per 1 million BTU. Gold was up $3.90 to $1,177.50 an ounce, while silver was up 2 cents to $15.98 an ounce. Copper was up 3 cents to $2.72 per pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund was up 2.84% to $20.24 with the United States Natural Gas Fund was up 4.50% to $13.73. Amongst precious-metal funds, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF was unchanged at 21.56 while SPDR Gold Shares was up 0.35% to $112.96. The iShares Silver Trust was up 0.07% to $15.33.
Here's where the U.S. markets stood at mid-day:
NYSE Composite Index up 11.68 (+0.11%) to 10,929.50
Dow Jones Industrial Average up 13.61 (+0.08%) to 17,780.16
S&P 500 up 2.06 (+0.10%) up 2,081.34
Nasdaq Composite Index down 14.37 (-0.29%) to 5,007.26
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Nikkei 225 Index down 1.76%
Hang Seng Index down 1.20%
Shanghai China Composite Index down 0.36%
FTSE 100 Index down 0.53%
CAC 40 down 0.15%
DAX down 0.58%
NYSE SECTOR INDICES
NYSE Energy Sector Index up 0.53%
NYSE Financial Sector Index up 0.23%
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index down 0.16%
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) LPTH (+31.34%) Infrared lens chosen for firefighting cameras
(+) MXL (+15.24%) Boosted its Q2 revenue guidance to reflect its acquisition of Entropic Communications and said it is seeing "strong follow-through of demand" for its expanded offerings following the deal
(+) SAGE (+15.14%) Reported positive results from the exploratory clinical trial of its SAGE-547 product in the treatment of postpartum depression.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) ZQK (-37.78%) Missed Q3 earnings estimates, management rescinding previously reported FY15 guidance
(-) AUDC (-18.09%) Preliminary results show Q2 sales to drop 15% to 5% versus Q1
(-) FCEL (-3.31%) Reported Q2 loss of $0.04 per share on revenue of $28.6 million
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
