Stocks finished lower in the first trading day of May. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

  • The Dow lost 138 points to 14700. The S&P 500 Index fell below an all-time high as it declined 14 points to 1582. The NASDAQ fell 29 points to 3299. The major averages retreated amid evidence of a possible slowing economy.
  • Manufacturing expanded in April at the slowest pace since last December and an ADP report showed companies added the fewest workers in seven months.
  • The FOMC statement came into focus later in the session. It revealed the Fed’s continued commitment to the pace of its monthly bond-buying program and showed the central bank is prepared to vary its purchases as economic conditions evolve.
  • Overall, all sectors finished in negative territory. The biggest drop in copper prices in a year led the Materials group to post the biggest losses as Cliffs Natural Resources fell over 4.9% to $20.28. Financials also suffered a setback with MasterCard losing 2.3% to $540.27 after missing first-quarter revenue expectations.
  • Earnings results will also garner attention after the closing bell with profit tallies due out from Visa and Facebook.
  • NYSE Composite volume totaled over 3.4 billion shares. On the NYSE, decliners beat advancers by 3-1 on issues and by 5-1 on volume. The NASDAQ was 7-2 negative on issues and 3-1 negative on volume.
  • In fixed-income, Treasuries rallied. The 10-year note increased 12/32 to yield 1.63%, its lowest level since December.

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

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