Stocks were down a little ahead of tomorrow's FED meeting. Dow was down 40, decliners ahead of advancers 3-2 while NAZ eaked out a gain of 2 as volume continues at a low 1.2B level. Merck (MRK) hurt the Dow, pulling back 4.30 after its new cholesterol drug was rejected by the FDA. Commodities which had been strong, pulled back today partially on recent strength in the dollar. Oil led the decline in commodities, down 3.12 to 115.63 after knocking on the 120 door just yesterday. Commodity declines help ease inflationary concerns.
Consumer confidence slipped again in Apr. The Conference Board said their Consumer Confidence index fell to 62.3 from 65.9 in the prior month (in line with expectations). This is another sign of a deteriorating economy. The FED meeting should give markets a sense of direction.
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