MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stocks End Mostly Down; Dow Halts 2-day Win Streak
By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks closed mostly down on Tuesday, as lower euro-zone growth forecasts outweighed a better-than-expected reading on the U.S. services sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 20.90 points, or 0.1%, to finish at 15,618.22, after the blue-chip index wiped out the bulk of a 117-point intraday drop.
AT&T Inc.(T) and Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ) were the biggest losers among blue chips, down 2.5% and 1.9%, respectively, while Cisco Systems Inc.(CSCO) was the biggest winner, rising 2.2%.
The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 4.96 points, or 0.3%, to end at 1,762.97. Consumer staples and consumer discretionary fared best among S&P 500 sectors, while telecom performed worst.
Both the Dow and the S&P 500 snapped two-day winning streaks.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) bucked Tuesday's negative trend, rising 3.27 points, or less than 0.1%, to close at 3,939.86. The tech-heavy index stretched its winning streak to three sessions in a row.
Even with increasing nervousness about the market's recent strong gains, stocks are just staging brief pullbacks on an intraday basis and recovering in the afternoon, rather than enduring longer downtrends, according to Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
"It suggests that the bull market is not yet ready to fall out of bed," Cardillo said.
The S&P 500 and Dow achieved record closes early last week and are trading not far off from those levels. (Read more: Heck yeah, it's a bubble! So what? http://blogs.marketwatch.com/cody/2013/11/05/...so-what/.)
The Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing index for October climbed to 55.4%, beating forecasts. The main indexes initially slumped to session lows shortly after the ISM release at 10 a.m. Eastern time, but then pared losses in late-morning action.
That reaction to the ISM report shows that investors are indecisive at this point, said Colin Cieszynski, senior market analyst at CMC Markets.
"It's still pretty choppy, and what it suggests is that people are uncertain about what it means for tapering," he said in an interview, referring to the guessing game over when the Federal Reserve will reduce its bond-buying program that's boosted equities.
Before U.S. markets opened on Tuesday, the European Commission cut its forecasts for economic growth and unemployment in the euro zone. Growth is now seen at 1.1% in 2014, versus a prior expectation of 1.2%, and unemployment is seen rising to 12.2% versus a previous forecast of 12.1%.
The lower forecasts for the euro zone offered a reason to take some profits, said Joshua Mahony, research analyst at Alpari U.K. "In terms of the euro-zone picture, what you're looking at really is the fact that people have bought into this recent rally a bit too much. It was a bit overbought in the first place," he said.
Investors also are looking ahead to European Central Bank policy decision on Thursday, along with U.S. GDP data that day and the U.S. October jobs report on Friday.
On the earnings front on Tuesday, CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) advanced 2% following its quarterly report. The drugstore chain boosted its profit target for the year.
DirecTV (DTV) dipped 1.3% after its quarterly release. The satellite TV provider posted profit and revenue that beat forecasts, helped by subscriber gains in the U.S. and Latin America.
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (KORS) gained nearly 6% after the fashion company's quarterly report showed momentum heading into the holiday season.
After the market's close, Tesla Motors Inc.(TSLA) was initially losing ground in late trading following its quarterly earnings report. Shares in the electric car maker finished the regular session with a 0.9% gain.
In other financial markets, European stocks moved lower on the reduced forecasts for the region, while Asian equities finished mixed.
Gold and crude oil both settled lower, while the dollar advanced.
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By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks closed mostly down on Tuesday, as lower euro-zone growth forecasts outweighed a better-than-expected reading on the U.S. services sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 20.90 points, or 0.1%, to finish at 15,618.22, after the blue-chip index wiped out the bulk of a 117-point intraday drop.
AT&T Inc.(T) and Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ) were the biggest losers among blue chips, down 2.5% and 1.9%, respectively, while Cisco Systems Inc.(CSCO) was the biggest winner, rising 2.2%.
The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 4.96 points, or 0.3%, to end at 1,762.97. Consumer staples and consumer discretionary fared best among S&P 500 sectors, while telecom performed worst.
Both the Dow and the S&P 500 snapped two-day winning streaks.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) bucked Tuesday's negative trend, rising 3.27 points, or less than 0.1%, to close at 3,939.86. The tech-heavy index stretched its winning streak to three sessions in a row.
Even with increasing nervousness about the market's recent strong gains, stocks are just staging brief pullbacks on an intraday basis and recovering in the afternoon, rather than enduring longer downtrends, according to Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
"It suggests that the bull market is not yet ready to fall out of bed," Cardillo said.
The S&P 500 and Dow achieved record closes early last week and are trading not far off from those levels. (Read more: Heck yeah, it's a bubble! So what? http://blogs.marketwatch.com/cody/2013/11/05/...so-what/.)
The Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing index for October climbed to 55.4%, beating forecasts. The main indexes initially slumped to session lows shortly after the ISM release at 10 a.m. Eastern time, but then pared losses in late-morning action.
That reaction to the ISM report shows that investors are indecisive at this point, said Colin Cieszynski, senior market analyst at CMC Markets.
"It's still pretty choppy, and what it suggests is that people are uncertain about what it means for tapering," he said in an interview, referring to the guessing game over when the Federal Reserve will reduce its bond-buying program that's boosted equities.
Before U.S. markets opened on Tuesday, the European Commission cut its forecasts for economic growth and unemployment in the euro zone. Growth is now seen at 1.1% in 2014, versus a prior expectation of 1.2%, and unemployment is seen rising to 12.2% versus a previous forecast of 12.1%.
The lower forecasts for the euro zone offered a reason to take some profits, said Joshua Mahony, research analyst at Alpari U.K. "In terms of the euro-zone picture, what you're looking at really is the fact that people have bought into this recent rally a bit too much. It was a bit overbought in the first place," he said.
Investors also are looking ahead to European Central Bank policy decision on Thursday, along with U.S. GDP data that day and the U.S. October jobs report on Friday.
On the earnings front on Tuesday, CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) advanced 2% following its quarterly report. The drugstore chain boosted its profit target for the year.
DirecTV (DTV) dipped 1.3% after its quarterly release. The satellite TV provider posted profit and revenue that beat forecasts, helped by subscriber gains in the U.S. and Latin America.
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (KORS) gained nearly 6% after the fashion company's quarterly report showed momentum heading into the holiday season.
After the market's close, Tesla Motors Inc.(TSLA) was initially losing ground in late trading following its quarterly earnings report. Shares in the electric car maker finished the regular session with a 0.9% gain.
In other financial markets, European stocks moved lower on the reduced forecasts for the region, while Asian equities finished mixed.
Gold and crude oil both settled lower, while the dollar advanced.
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