Visa, Verizon Communications and J.P. Morgan Chase lead the Dow lower
US stocks ended mostly in the red at Wall Street on Tuesday, 24 September 2013. Stocks fell extending their losing streaks to four days, as a drop in consumer confidence and worries over a Washington debt-ceiling fight outweighed a rise in home prices and easing concerns over the Middle East.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 66.79 points, or 0.4%, to close at 15,334.59, while the S&P 500 shed 4.42 points, or 0.3%, to 1,697.42. The Nasdaq Composite index held on to a 3 point rise to finish at 3,768.25, halting a two-day losing streak
The ten economic sectors had a mixed finish. Consumer staples, financial and technology sectors were the hardest hit among the 10 major sectors.
Visa, Verizon Communications and J.P. Morgan Chase led the Dow lower. Visa and Verizon each lost 1.5%, while J.P. Morgan posted a 2.2% drop.
The Wall Street Journal reported that J.P. Morgan and the Justice Department have expanded talks to include a number of pending probes, with the bank offering potentially billions of dollars to end intense legal scrutiny. A news report late Monday said the bank could face another government lawsuit over sales of mortgage-backed securities.
Amid a lack of major geopolitical developments or markets-moving economic data the past several days, the world market place continues to buzz about last week's decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to not taper its monthly bond-buying program and when might the Fed begin that endeavor. Several Federal Reserve officials have already spoken so far early this week, with the common thread among them being that the Fed would begin to wind down its quantitative easing when U.S. economic conditions warrant.
Also Read
Meantime, European Central Bank officials Tuesday suggested the ECB could implement new monetary policy easing measures if the European Union economies do not show better growth prospects. That helped to put downside price pressure on the Euro currency and also limited buying interest in gold. However, such a development from the ECB would likely be longer-term bullish for gold due to the inflationary implications.
The U.S. budget and debt ceiling issues are looming and will be debated by the U.S. Congress and the Obama administration the next few weeks. This will become a front-burner matter for the market place, and one that could be significantly bearish for most markets, as there is already talk the U.S. government could shut down for a short time.
On the economic front at Wall Street today, September Consumer Confidence Index fell to 79.7 from an upwardly revised 81.8 (from 81.4) in August. The consensus expected the Consumer Confidence Index to drop to 80.0.
In the tech sector, Applied Materials surged 9.1% after it agreed to buy Tokyo Electron for $9.3 billion.
Bullion metal prices ended lower on Tuesday, 24 September 2013 at Comex. Prices of precious metals grappled with the possibility of a reduction in U.S. monetary stimulus, but worries about the U.S. budget and debt ceiling helped prices finish off the day's lows. Prices moved up from earlier lower levels on some late short covering and bargain hunting following recent selling pressure.
December gold ended lower by $10.7 (0.8%) at $1316.3 per ounce in morning action on Tuesday. Prices have lost almost 4% in past three sessions. December silver ended lower by 27 cents or 1.2% of $21.59 per ounce.
Crude-oil prices ended lower on Tuesday, 24 September 2013 at Nymex. Oil futures futures logged a fourth straight session of losses on Tuesday on the back of a better supply outlook, but prices settled above $103 a barrel as uncertainties surrounding the Middle East region remained. November crude oil dropped fell 46 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $103.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Trading volume was a bit below average as 674 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Indian ADRs ended mixed on Tuesday. In the IT space, Infosys was up 0.3% % and Wipro was down 0.3%. In the Banking space, HDFC Bank was up 0.6% and ICICI Bank was up 0.3%. In other space, Tata Motors was up 1.5% and Dr Reddys was up 0.43%.
Tomorrow, the economic reports will feature the weekly MBA Mortgage Index which will be reported at 7:00 ET; August durable orders will be released at 8:30 ET; and August new home sales will cross at 10:00 ET. The U.S. Treasury will auction $35 billion in 5-yr notes.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News