Home Prices And Consumer Confidence Rise Not Enough To End In Positive Day On Markets

Stocks erased early gains to finish lower on Tuesday. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

The Dow retreated 101 points to close at 13457. Caterpillar contributed the most to the blue chip index’s decline, falling $3.86 to $87.01 after lowering its 2015 forecast. The S&P 500 fell 15 points to 1441. The NASDAQ gave up 43 points to close at 3117.
The afternoon retreat by the major averages was attributed to Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser who said the central bank’s new bond buying program is unlikely to boost growth or employment.
The market had been up earlier today following reports that showed home prices and consumer confidence rose more than consensus projections.
Materials were the worst performing sector with iron ore producer Cliffs Natural Resources down $1.81 to $38.96.
Tech stocks also weighed on the market. Software maker Red Hat lost $2.46 to $55.08 after reporting a profit shortfall Monday night. Apple declined $16.01 to $673.80. Google finished down 30 cents to $749.20 after reaching a record high of $764.89 today.
Health care was the best performing group with Amgen gaining 94 cents to $83.85.
Breadth was negative on NYSE by an 8-3 margin on issues. NYSE Composite volume totaled over 3.6 billion shares.
The NASDAQ was negative by 3-1 margin on issues. The 10-year note was up 3/8 of a point to yield 1.67%.

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