Negativity In Europe Adds To Tone Of Horrible Day – Acadiana Business Index

Stocks finished near their worst levels of the session. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

• The Dow closed down nearly 185 points to 12571. The S&P 500 Index lost over 19 points to 1355 and the NASDAQ gave up 37 points to 2846.
• Fiscal cliff and euro zone debt concerns overshadowed another batch of encouraging earnings reports.
• President Obama held firm on his stance to extend existing tax rates for only households earning less than $250,000.
• Over in Europe, anti-austerity strikes and Greece’s debt woes added to the negative tone. In addition, the euro-area’s industrial production fell by the most since January 2009.
• Weak economic data also put a damper on sentiment. Superstorm Sandy caused retail sales to drop in October for the first time in four months. Wholesale prices also gave up ground in October as energy and vehicle costs dropped.
• The latest FOMC minutes also garnered attention which signaled the Fed may increase bond purchases when its Operation Twist program expires.
• Overall, all sectors finished with losses. Industrial and financial stocks paced the decline as Caterpillar fell $2.16 to $81.10 and JPMorgan declined 75 cents to $39.29. A retreat in materials also weighed on markets as Freeport-McMoRan lost 96 cents to $37.41. NYSE Composite volume totaled over 4 billion shares.
• The NYSE was 9-1 negative on issues and broadly negative on volume. On the NASDAQ, decliners beat advancers by 4-1 on issues and by 5-2 on volume.
• In fixed-income, Treasuries saw minor gains with the 10-year note up 3/32 to yield 1.58%.

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