Major Averages Suffer – Acadiana Business Index

Stocks finished lower in another volatile trading session. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

• The Dow snapped its streak of 20 consecutive Tuesdays in positive territory as it fell over 76 points to 15177. The S&P 500 Index lost 9 points to 1631. The NASDAQ was lower by 20 points to 3445.
• The major averages erased Monday’s advance as the Fed continued to deliver a mixed monetary policy message after Kansas City Fed President George reiterated her support for slowing the pace of quantitative easing as economic growth quickens.
• Investors were also cautious ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s speech on the nation’s growth strategy and before Friday’s all-important nonfarm payrolls report.
• Overall, nearly every sector lost ground. Industrials and Energy were the worst performing groups as United Technologies fell 1% to $94.24 and Exxon Mobil declined 0.7% to $90.78. Consumer Discretionary stocks were also weak, led by Dollar General’s 7.9% drop to $49.34 after the company reduced the top end of its full-year earnings forecast. The defensive characteristics of Telecommunications helped the group gain ground. AT&T advanced 1.9% to $35.72 and Sprint rose 1.1% to $7.30.
• NYSE Composite volume totaled over 3.5 billion shares. On the NYSE, decliners beat advancers by 7-4 on issues and by 2-1 on volume. The NASDAQ was 2-1 negative on issues and on volume.
• In fixed-income, Treasuries declined. The 10-year note was down 6/32 to yield 2.14% and the 30-year bond lost 24/32 to yield 3.31%.

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