Closing Wrap-Up, Nov. 21
Traders sell shares heading into the closed, leaving stocks with hefty declines. The Dow () closed the session with a loss of 211.10 points to 12,799.04. The S&P 500 () gave up 22.93 points to finish the session at 1,416.77. The NASDAQ () declined 34.66 points to close at 2,562.15. Volume was lighter, but remained moderate at 1.61 billion shares on the NYSE and at 2.07 billion shares on the Naz. Market breadth was negative on the session by 9-to-24 and 9-to-21 margin on the Big Board and Naz respectively.
Economic news was abundant Wednesday, garnering a lot of trader’s attentions. However, the data didn’t do anything to persuade the Fed one way or the other when it comes to cutting interest rates next month. Weekly jobless claims fell by 11,000 this past week and are definitely not in recession territory. However, leading indicators fell 0.5 percent, supporting the view that the economy is in for a rough patch the next few quarters.
Oil prices were also a focus today after weekly inventory data showed an unexpected decline of 1.1 million barrels. However, ahead of the report, crude hit an all-time high of $99.26, but ultimately fell 70-cents to $97.33. High energy prices and weakness in the housing market are creating problems for consumer sentiment as well. The University of Michigan reported that its consumer sentiment index fell to 76.1 in November from 80.6 in October.
Retail stocks got a lot of attention today ahead of the holiday shopping kickoff on Friday. Several retailers provided earnings guidance today with Limited Brands () cutting its quarterly earnings estimate as did Children’s Place (). LTD shares actually gained 2.4 percent on the session with PLCE down 2.9 percent. Ironically, shares of Hot Topic () fell 7.0 percent despite the fact the teen-apparel retailer confirmed its earnings forecasts. Overall, the S&P Retail Index () came off its intraday lows to close with a loss of just 0.29 percent.
Financial stocks continued to suffer Wednesday with Country Wide Financial () falling 8.4 percent a day after Freddie Mac () lost more than 25 percent of its value. Goldman Sachs downgraded its second financial giant to “Sell” today when it lowered its rating on Credit Suisse (). CS shares gave up 1.4 percent on the news.
Remember that the markets are closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday and will have an abbreviated schedule on Friday. My best wishes to you and your families and here’s to a profitable end of the year.
Jody Osborne
Senior Writer & Options Strategist
Optionetics.com ~ Your Options Education Site
Visit Jody's Forum
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