This was not a pretty day as stocks sold off starting about 11AM, ending at their lows. Dow dropped 206, decliners over advancers almost 3-1 & NAZ pulled back 45. The 13K level for the Dow was broken severely, closing at 12.8K & the 1400 did not hold for the S&P 500. Today's economic news was pretty much in line with expectations but fear of the unknown, especially for financials took hold. Banks, financials & REITs pulled back in this market. Even MLPs which had been strong in the last couple of days pulled back almost 2. They just transport oil & gas, a different business than the oil producers, but they are buffeted by oil markets. One exception to good economic news was consumers increased borrowings in Mar at a faster rate than expected. The 7.2% rate was considerably above the 3.1% rate in Feb. While recent data gave hints about declines in the economy being less severe than originally thought, this suggests a weaker economy was forcing consumers to increase borrowings for spending.
After the close, News Corp (NWS) reported favorable earnings, sending the stock up about 10¢ after hours. This is one of those companies that can't get no respect. Dominating today's news was oil, up 1.94 to 123.78. Traders in futures are speculating with calls for 125 &130 for oil. Oil may dominate thinking for the balance of the week.
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