A dull day at US Market
Technology sector was a sole winner in today?s trading at US Market as
indices closed almost unchanged but Nasdaq was the only index to
register decent gains. Financials were also strong today but weakness
in telecom and a couple of other major sectors offset the same today,
Monday, 16 June, 2008. Crude prices neared $140 earlier in the day but
then slipped and ended marginally lower going into close. Four of the
major economic sectors closed higher. Financials, Technology, Energy
and Materials were the winning sectors.
The Dow Jones industrial
Average traded between red and green for the entire day. It was down
more than 50 points earlier in the day. Going into close, the index
ended the day with a loss of 38 points at 12,269.58. The Nasdaq
Composite Index, finished higher by 20.2 points at 2,474.78. S&P
500 finished higher by 0.11 points at 1,360.14.
Nineteen out
of thirty Dow stocks ended in the red today. AT&T and Verizon ? the
telecom stocks led the Dow laggards. The financial heavyweights like
Citigroup were some of the stocks that helped Dow to restrict its
losses.
In economic news, according to the NY Empire State
Index, June manufacturing activity in the New York region contracted by
a larger-than-expected amount. The reading slipped 5.5 to -8.7, which
fell short of the consensus estimate of -2.0. The stock market
responded negatively to the report.
Brokerage downgrades of giants like General Electric, Verizon and AT&T prevented the broader market from making an advance.
The Nasdaq outperformed today with help from Research In Motion which benefitted from several positive brokerage comments
The National Association of Home Builders reported the industry to be
as gloomy as ever in June, with about one in five builders holding the
view the housing market is good.
Crude prices retreated back
after nearing $140/barrel today. Couple of factors continued to weigh
on crude prices. Chance of an increase in output at Saudi Arabia was
the main reason. Temporary shutdown of an oil platform in the North Sea
and weakness in the U.S. dollar had earlier pushed up crude prices.
Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery today closed
at $134.61/barrel (lower by $0.25/barrel or 0.02%) on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. Earlier it rose to $139.89/barrel.
At the
currency markets on Monday, the U.S. dollar fell against most of its
major rivals after a meeting of the Group of Eight finance ministers in
Japan focused more on inflation than on currencies, deflating
expectations of a strong statement of support for the U.S. currency.
The dollar index , which tracks the performance of the greenback
against a basket of other major currencies, was off 0.6% at 73.62.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 1.1 billion, with
advancers ahead of decliners 3 to 2. On the Nasdaq, more than 804
million shares traded, with advancing stocks outpacing those declining
by 4 to 3.
Key earnings releases from Goldman Sachs and Best Buy
are due tomorrow. Both report prior to opening bell. Tuesday's economic
data includes May Housing Starts and the May Producer Price Index
followed by the Industrial Production Index for May.
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