S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX dropped to the lower end of its trading range. Since the sharp sell-off in late Nov, the index has been trading sideways between 155-170 (similar to the Dow's behavior) but it's playing defense especially with selling at the close.
| Value 155.45 | Change -5.86 | % Change -3.6% |
Th Alerian MLP Index was down 2+, but at 195 it's hanging in there & remains close to the 200 ceiling. The Dow Jones REIT Index fell 7, junk bonds were mixed but slightly up & VIX was off pennies.
Oil fell below 40, but closed above 40 going into the weekend.
| CLG09.NYM | ..Crude Oil Feb 09 | ...40.81 | .. 0.89.......(2.1%) |
Boeing (BA), a Dow stock, announced it will be cutting 3% of its workforce. Chevron (CVX), another Dow stock, said lower oil prices will hurt. Both stocks contributed to the down day for the Dow:
- Boeing to cut 4,500 jobs due to economic downturn- AP
- •Ahead of The Bell: Falling crude hits Chevron 4Q
The bulls must be encouraged that stocks had a relatively mild decline in the face of very ugly news. Of course, it was widely expected. The only question was over how ugly. The new administration will be pushing a stimulus package approaching $1T. Cooler heads are beginning to think about implications (especially on the inflation front) for all this spending.
Dow pulled back 400 in its first week, grim sign for the rest of the year. Mon & Tues, it hung in there. But in the last 3 days, it just kept sliding with no recovery.
Dow Jones Industrials --- 1 week
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