Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Issues Warning Concerning Central Bank And The Fiscal Cliff

Markets ended relatively unchanged after a choppy trading session. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell just 7 points to 12,789 after being down as many as 94 points in early action. The S&P 500 rose 1 point to 1388 and the NASDAQ finished higher by less than a point at 2917.
Stocks failed to hold their midsession rally after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the Central Bank did not have the tools available to combat the effects of the fiscal cliff.
Six of the 10 sectors on the S&P finished higher, led by gains in consumer discretionary stocks. Homebuilders moved higher after housing starts unexpectedly rose 3.6% in October. Lennar added $1.29 to $38.10 and Pulte Group advanced 85 cents to $16.75. On the downside, shares of Hewlett-Packard fell $1.59 to $11.71 after the company reported earnings that included an $8.8 billion write-down tied to its acquisition of Autonomy. Also among earnings, Campbell Soup gave up 74 cents to $36.21 following their disappointing profit tally.
Composite volume on the NYSE was about 3.2 billion shares with advancing issues besting decliners by a margin of 5-4. The NASDAQ was 8-7 negative on issues.
Turning to fixed income, Treasuries are lower along the curve with the benchmark 10-year note off 9/16 of a point to yield 1.67%.

For the complete report, click Ken's Market Report.