Updated: 10-Aug-10
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13:05 ET
Sellers Step In
Dow -94.23 at 10604.52, Nasdaq -35.95 at 2269.74,S&P -11.55 at 1116.24
[BRIEFING.COM] The tone of trade this session has been decidedly negative since the open. In turn, stocks are stuck in the red with deep losses.Weakness among overseas markets and a disappointing second quarter productivity reading drove stocks markedly lower at the start of session. Losses were quick to compound as sellers piled on to drive the stock market below its 200-day moving average.Part of this session’s pessimistic tone stems from uncertainty surrounding the FOMC policy directive at 2:15 PM ET. Though the fed funds rate is expected to remain at 0.00% to 0.025%, many expect the Fed to unveil some sort of quantitative easing measure. Despite that, the Dollar Index has made its way markedly higher. The greenback is currently up 0.7% as it works toward one of its best single-session advances of the past two months.Stocks have worked their way up from session lows, but broader market losses are still rather steep.Semiconductor stocks are down more than 3%, as measured by the Semiconductors HOLDRS Trust (XMH 27.02, -0.85). Such weakness has weighed on the tech sector, which is the largest by market weight in the S&P 500.Utilities stocks make up the only sector to currently sport a gain. They are up 0.3%, collectively. Other defensive-oriented issues like consumer staples (unch.) and telecom (-0.2%) have managed to limit their losses.Treasuries have been generally quiet today, but the benchmark 10-year Note just climbed a couple of ticks with the release of results from a $34 billion auction of 3-year Notes. The auction produced a yield of 0.84%, which is less than expected, and a bid-to-cover of 3.3, which is stronger than what had been expected.
12:30 ET
Electric Utilities Charge Up
Dow -84.16 at 10610.54, Nasdaq -31.86 at 2272.97, S&P -10.80 at 1116.99
[BRIEFING.COM] Utilities stocks have pushed into positive ground. The sector is now up 0.3%.Within the utilities sector, electric utilities are in charge (no pun intended). Strength in the group has Dominion(D 44.24, +0.21), Duke Energy (DUK 17.70, +0.14), and American Electric (AEP 36.12, +0.27) sporting enviable gains, especially compared with the broader market's 1% loss.
12:00 ET
FOMC Statement Looms
Dow -85.00 at 10613.75, Nasdaq -30.92 at 2274.77, S&P -10.44 at 1117.35
[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks have started to grind their way higher. Weakness remains widespread, though.Market participants continue to await the latest FOMC statement, which will be issued at 2:15 PM ET. The consensus is that the target fed funds rate will remain unchanged at 0.00% to 0.25%, but there is more uncertainty surrounding the actual verbiage of the policy directive. That said, most participants will focus on what the Fed has to say about economic conditions and the economic outlook, whether interest rates will remain exceptionally low for an extended period, whether there is concern for any inflationary pressures, and the possible establishment of quantitative easing programs.
11:30 ET
Defensive Stocks Limit Losses
Dow -92.90 at 10605.85, Nasdaq -32.33 at 2273.36, S&P -11.32 at 1116.47
[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices are little changed from earlier levels. In turn, sizable losses remain.However, defensive-oriented issues have managed to improve their positions. In turn, consumer staples are now down just fractionally, while utilities stocks are off just 0.2% and the telecom sector is down 0.3%.Materials stocks are still under some of the sharpest pressure; the sector is down 1.8% as metals and mining plays like Alcoa (AA 11.22, -0.44) and US Steel (X 47.25, -1.61) dive.
11:00 ET
Greenback Extends Gains
Dow -114.44 at 10584.31, Nasdaq -36.87 at 2268.82, S&P -13.40 at 1114.39
[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market is off of its morning low, but it continues to contend with a loss of more than 1% as more than 90% of its components reside in the red.The dollar continues to tick higher, however. At the moment, the greenback is up 0.9% against a basket of competing currencies. That puts the Dollar Index back above its 200-day moving average and on pace for its best single-session percentage gain in two months.
10:30 ET
Crude Trades Below $80
Dow -101.27 at 10597.48, Nasdaq -31.72 at 2273.97, S&P -11.43 at 1116.36
[BRIEFING.COM] Strength in the US Dollar Index this morning is keeping crude oil and precious metals trading near session lows. Natural gas is just above the unchanged line currently.
September crude oil fell into the red overnight and has trended lower into morning trade. Crude hit new session lows of $79.20 per barrel about an hour ago and is currently trading at $79.68 per barrel, down 1.8%.
September natural gas broke out of negative territory around 7:30am ET and rallied into positive territory and to new morning highs of $4.37 per MMBtu. The energy component pulled back and gave back all of its gains over the next two hours, but in recent trade, its back just above the unchanged line at $4.32 per MMBtu.
Precious metals moved into the red overnight and have trended lower since. Gold hit fresh session lows of $1192.50 just after 8:30am ET, while silver hit its own new session lows of $17.96 around the same time. Gold is currently 0.4% lower at $1197.00 per ounce and silver is 0.6% lower at $18.13 per ounce.
10:00 ET
Slide Steadies
Dow -119.13 at 10579.62, Nasdaq -37.49 at 2268.20, S&P -13.55 at 1114.24
[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks appear to have steadied their morning slide, but the overall mood among market participants remains decidedly negative.Despite the degree of weakness currently in the stock market, Treasuries haven't attracted any real support to speak of. In fact, the benchmark 10-year Note is actually down one tick. The 30-year Bond is up nine ticks, though. Their yields are still at low levels of 2.83% and 4.00%, respectively.Wholesale inventories for June were just released. They increased just 0.1%. Many economists had expected a 0.4% increase to follow up the 0.5% increase that was recorded for the prior month.
09:45 ET
Sellers Control Open
Dow -137.75 at 10561.00, Nasdaq -38.68 at 2267.01, S&P -14.45 at 1113.34
[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks have started the session under a sharp, broad-based selling effort. In turn, all 10 major sectors are in the red; seven of them are down by at least 1%.Only traditionally defensive-oriented issues have managed to limit their losses to less than 1%. Specifically, consumer staples (-0.5%), telecom (-0.7%), utilities (-0.9%) are under slightly less pressure than the rest of the market.The early selloff has kicked up volatility. In turn, the Volatility Index is already up about 5%.
09:15 ET
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -9.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -15.80. The prior session concluded with solid gains on extremely light share volume, but there hasn’t been any follow through. Instead, futures for the S&P 500 point to a negative start for trade on Tuesday. The change in attitude among traders comes in response to weakness in both Europe and Asia after China reported some disappointing trade data. Premarket participants are also leery about what the Fed might have in store when the FOMC releases its latest policy directive at 2:15 PM ET. Disappointing second quarter nonfarm productivity figures haven't helped the mood this morning and wholesale inventory figures won't be released until 10:00 AM ET. Results from an auction of 3-year Notes arrive at 1:00 PM ET. Though there is uncertainty related to what the FOMC might have planned and the data already released has disappointed, the dollar has staged a strong advance against other currencies, such that the Dollar Index is up 0.7% at the moment.
09:05 ET
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -9.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -16.00. Futures for the S&P 500 are still under stiff pressure, but selling has actually intensified in Europe. Germany’s DAX is now down 1.2% to trade near its session low. Weakness is worst among consumer goods and services stocks, which are down 1.9%. Industrials are also in bad shape as they grapple with a 1.8% loss. As for France’s CAC, it has dropped to a 1.2% loss. Financials have created a heavy drag by falling 1.9%, which has been more than enough to overwhelm health care’s 0.3% gain – health care is currently the only sector in higher ground. Health care issues in Britain are also strong. The likes of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Astra Zeneca (AZN) have the health care sector up 1.2%. However, weakness in the broader market has the FTSE down 0.7%. Basic materials stocks (-2.3%) are currently worst off.
In Asia, mainland China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 2.9% as more than 90% of its components came under a sharp selling effort following some disappointing data on China’s July trade balance. Energy plays and banks were among the hardest hit. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng surrendered 1.5% as sellers waged a broad-based assault. Materials plays plummeted 2.6%, while tech stocks, the only sector to see gains, climbed 0.4%. In Japan, the Nikkei slipped a much more tame 0.2%. Telecom attempted to provide support as it advanced 0.9%, but it was the only major sector to climb. In contrast, energy plays dropped 1.1% to finish as the worst performing sector. The yen continued to back off of the near decade high that it set late last week. It currently trades at about 86.1 per dollar.
08:35 ET
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -10.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -17.50. Stock futures have steadied a bit since setting fresh morning lows in the wake of some preliminary second quarter productivity measures. Nonfarm productivity for the second quarter reportedly decreased 0.9%, which is weaker than the 0.1% increase that had been widely expected. It also marks a sharp reversal from the upwardly revised 3.9% increase that was recorded for the prior quarter. Unit labor costs for the quarter increased 0.2%, but that was actually less than the 1.4% increase that had been widely anticipated. Labor costs for the prior quarter were revised lower to reflect a 3.7% decline.
08:05 ET
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -7.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.30. Stock futures are down markedly this morning. The weak tone reflects overseas action, although China’s Shanghai Composite came under exceptionally stiff selling pressure and closed with a near 3% loss amid disappointing data. Meanwhile, the dollar has extended its advance against the euro. In turn, the greenback is up 0.6% against a basket of major foreign currencies. Nonfarm productivity figures for the second quarter are due at the bottom of the hour. Wholesale inventories for June are due at 10:00 AM ET. Then, all eyes turn to the FOMC, which is scheduled to make its latest policy statement at 2:15 PM ET. Corporate announcements have been inconsequential in terms of influence on premarket trade.
07:29 ET
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -6.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.50.
07:29 ET
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...5397.40...-13.10...-0.20%. DAX...6321.10...-30.50...-0.50%.
07:29 ET
Market is Closed
[BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...9551.05...-21.40...-0.20%. Hang Seng...21473.60...-328.00...-1.50%.
16:25 ET
Stocks Stage Solid Gains on Thin Volume
Dow +45.19 at 10698.75, Nasdaq +17.22 at 2305.69, S&P +6.15 at 1127.79
source:briefing.com[BRIEFING.COM] There weren’t any catalysts for trade this session, but stocks still made their way solidly higher. Participation was paltry ahead of the FOMC rate decision, though.Stocks spent the session in the green, but there was never really a leader among them. Instead, gains were broad and varied.Telecom made the best move. It finished 1.1% higher, though the sector’s lack of market weight meant that its strength had little influence on overall trade.Tech stocks, which is the largest sector by market weight, struggled in the early going, but eventually caught up with the broader market. The sector settled with a 0.5% gain, but computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 42.60, -3.70) remained near 52-week lows following news that the company’s CEO will step down amid sexual harassment claims. The ignominy of situation completely overshadowed the company’s upside guidance.Stocks encountered some choppy price action into the close, such that the major indices finished shy of their session highs. Despite that, stocks were still able to book their best closing levels of the past month. The improvement was fractional, though.Trade also lacked conviction. That was made evident by the paltry 790 million shares that exchanged hands on the NYSE today. It was the lowest share count all year.Many point to tomorrow’s FOMC decision as a primary reason that traders opted to stay on the sidelines. The consensus is that the FOMC will keep its target interest rate in a range of 0.00% to 0.25%, but many are concerned that the Fed might change the verbiage in its directive.The greenback gained 0.3% against a basket of foreign currencies ahead of the FOMC decision. Most of that move came at the euro's expense, which directly dropped 0.4% against the dollar.Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+1.1%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.9%), Energy (+0.6%), Financials (+0.6%), Industrials (+0.6%), Tech (+0.5%), Consumer Staples (+0.5%), Utilities (+0.4%), Materials (+0.4%), Health Care (+0.3%)Declining Sectors: (None)..Nasdaq 100 +0.7%. ..S&P Midcap 400 +1.0%. ..Russell 2000 +1.4%.
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