For the day, the Dow ended lower 55.44 points (0.41%) at 13,328.85. Nasdaq ended lower by 7 points (0.23%) at 3,091.81. S&P 500 ended lower by 4.74 points (0.32%) at 1,457.15.
Among the ten economic sectors, telecommunications led the slide and materials performed best among its 10 major industry groups. Among the thirty Dow components,
15 of its 30 components in the red. Losses were led by Boeing, down 2.6% after an analyst firm downgraded its rating on the aerospace manufacturer to hold from buy.
Boeing suffered another setback related to its 787 Dreamliner jet aircraft Tuesday when a fuel leak was reported on an outbound Japan Airlines flight at Boston's Logan International Airport.
The materials sector advanced as the space resisted the broad market pressure. The sector was supported by Monsanto, which reported upbeat quarterly result. During the first quarter, the chemical producer earned $0.62, which was well ahead of the $0.26 expected by the consensus. In addition, Monsanto's revenue of $2.94 billion was also ahead of expectations.
Among the day's expected economic data, according to the Federal Reserve, consumer credit increased by $16 billion in November. This follows the prior month's $14.2 billion increase, and is higher than the $10.6 billion that had been broadly expected.
After yesterday's close, Yum! Brands reaffirmed its full-year 2012 earnings guidance, but lowered the same-store sales estimates for its China division. As a result of the disappointing outlook update, the stock slipped 4.4% and other quick service restaurants are trading lower as well. McDonald's and Darden Restaurants were both down 1.0%.
In overnight news there was a mixed bag of economic data released by the European Union Tuesday. Most of it was downbeat, highlighted by the Euro zone seeing record high unemployment in November, at 11.8%. Traders are awaiting Thursday's monthly European Central Bank meeting. Asian traders are awaiting a fresh batch of Chinese economic data due out later this week and during the upcoming weekend. U.S. economic released Tuesday moved the precious metals markets very little.
In the currency market, the dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies rose by 0.7% on Tuesday. The index last Friday hit a four-week high, in the wake of the greenback-bullish FOMC minutes issued last week.
Crude oil prices ended little lower on Tuesday, 08 January 2013 at Nymex.
Prices ended almost unchanged as traders weighed expectations for a sizable increase in weekly supplies against support from the anticipated completion of a key U.S. pipeline expansion. On Tuesday, light and sweet crude oil futures for light sweet crude for February delivery closed lower by $0.04 (0.04%) at $93.15/barrel. For 2012, oil futures fell 7.1%, their first yearly decline since 2008, when markets were rocked by the global financial crisis.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration on last Friday reported that crude supplies for the week ended 28 December 2012 fell by a much higher-than-expected 11 million barrels. For this week, market forecasts increases of 1.5 million barrels each for crude and distillate inventories for the week ended 4 January 2013. They also expect a 2.6 million-barrel increase in gasoline supplies.
Bullion metals at Comex finished higher on Tuesday, 08 January 2013. Comex gold futures prices made a steady climb throughout the session on Tuesday after three sessions of decline. Signs of demand from Asia perked up prices. Gold for February delivery rose $15.9 (1%) to settle at $1,662.1 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday. Gold futures had tallied a loss of $42.50 an ounce, or 2.5%, over last three trading sessions. On Tuesday, March silver rose $0.38, or 1.3% to settle at $30.47 an ounce. Silver finished 8.3% higher for the year 2012.
More than 691 million shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Composite volume topped 3.5 billion.
Indian ADRs ended mostly lower on Tuesday. In the Banking space, ICICI Bank was down 1% and HDFC Bank was down 1.8%. In the IT space, Infosys was down 1.8% and Wipro was down 1.4%. In the Telecom space, MTNL was down 1.8% and Tata Communication was up 0.3%. In the other space, Sterlite was down 1.8%, Tata Motors was down 0.4%. Dr Reddys was up 1.1%.
For tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be reported at 7:00 ET. Earning reports will start to pour in from tomorrow.
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