That's a big reason why the
Dow Jones industrials ($INDU) fell 6.4% on the week. It's why
Bank of America (BAC) fell 12.7%. It's why
copper (-HG) fell 16.6% and
gold (-GC) fell 9.6%. And it is a big reason why futures trading early Monday suggested the Dow will open down maybe 100 points, with the S&P 500 down 10 points and the
Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX) down 25 points.
Sector Watch
Strong
construction machinery; electronic manufacturing services; diversified financial services; diversified banks; electric utilities; apparel and accessories retailers
Weak
food distribution; gold
Article continues below.
If that's not enough to drive traders crazy, Dow component
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) booted Leo Apotheker as CEO after just 11 months in favor of former
eBay (EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman
| Markets for the week |
|
|
| 9/23/2011 |
|
| 9/16/2011 |
|
| % chg. |
|
| YTD chg. |
| Dow Industrials |
|
| 10,771.48 |
|
| 11,509.09 |
|
| -6.41% |
|
| -6.96% |
| S&P 500 |
|
| 1,136.43 |
|
| 1,216.01 |
|
| -6.54% |
|
| -9.64% |
| Nasdaq |
|
| 2,483.23 |
|
| 2,622.31 |
|
| -5.30% |
|
| -6.39% |
| Russell 2000 |
|
| 652.43 |
|
| 714.31 |
|
| -8.66% |
|
| -16.74% |
| Crude oil |
|
| $79.85 |
|
| $87.96 |
|
| -9.22% |
|
| -12.62% |
| (per barrel) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| U.S. Dollar Index |
|
| 79.23 |
|
| 76.59 |
|
| 3.44% |
|
| -0.08% |
| 10-yr. Treasury |
|
| 1.81% |
|
| 2.08% |
|
| -12.91% |
|
| -45.30% |
| Gold |
|
| $1,639.80 |
|
| 1,814.70 |
|
| -9.64% |
|
| 15.37% |
Here's what else to watch from the economy:
New home sales for August, due Monday from the Commerce Department. Don't expect any improvement from July's dismal sales rate of 285,000 units.
S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index for July, due Tuesday, from Standard & Poor's. Look for another year-over-year price decline of maybe 4%.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, due Tuesday. This is also expected to show little improvement.
Durable good orders, due Wednesday from the Commerce Department. This might offer some real cheer, according to Capital Economics, the British economic consulting firm. Defense orders are rising. So are commercial airplane orders.
Initial jobless claims, due Thursday from the Labor Department. Claims fell to 423,000 in the week ending Sept. 17. But the 4-week moving average rose to 421,000. Claims have stalled at 410,000 to 430,00 in recent weeks, likely the result of increased layoff announcements.
Second-quarter Gross Domestic Product, due Thursday from the Commerce Department. This is a revised estimate that's expected to show a small bit of improvement, from an annualized 1% to 1.3%.
Personal income and spending, due Friday from the Commerce Department. The August jobs report showed no gains in jobs. Don't expect much on the income side, either, says IHS Global Insight.
Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, due Friday. This is a final report. It may rise from August's reading of 55.7 to maybe 56.8, IHS says, but that will be down from the first reading of 57.8. Market turmoil will be the culprit.
Micron is the top earnings report
The week ahead is not heavy on earnings reports. The third quarter doesn't end until Friday, and earnings season only starts with
Alcoa (AA) on after the close on Oct. 11.
Here are the week's key reports:
Monday: Egg-producer
Cal-Maine Foods (CALM).
Tuesday:
American Greetings (AM), circuit-board maker
Jabil Circuit (JBL), payroll processor
Paychex (PAYX) and drugstore chain
Walgreen (WAG). The theme to watch is what the companies have to say about job expansion.
Wednesday: Discounter retailer
Family Dollar Stores (FDO) and spice-maker
McCormick & Co. (MKC).
Thursday: Semiconductor-maker
Micron Technology (MU) and steel-maker
Worthington Industries (WOR). Micron's results will be closely watched because it offers a look at the health of the personal computer business.
MARKET UPDATE
| NAME | LAST | CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|
| # | Nikkei | 8,374.13 | -186.13 | -2.17 |
 |
| # | FTSE 100 | 5,118.80 | +51.99 | +1.03 |
 |
| # | DAX | 5,164.21 | -269.59 | -4.96 |
 |
[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market mustered its first gain of the week on Friday. The gain, although modest, came as participants moved to cover their positions following four days of concerted selling. ...
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