Good earnings from several blue-chip companies couldn't keep the market's momentum going this month. So today's across-the-board sell-off citing economic weakness was the perfect send-off for a turbulent April.
Before we take a closer look at a few stocks making news, let's see how the major indexes fared today.
Index |
Gain / Loss |
Gain / Loss % |
Ending Value |
---|---|---|---|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
(14.68) | (0.11%) | 13,213.63 |
Nasdaq | (22.84) | (0.74%) | 3,046.36 |
S&P 500 | (5.45) | (0.39%) | 1,397.91 |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
The Dow held on to a positive monthly gain by its fingertips as flat consumer spending and weak ISM data highlight an economy that may be taking its foot off the gas again. The year started out with similar momentum, only to see it tapering off into the summer months, and fears are starting to mount that we could witness another head fake. First-quarter GDP growth was down 0.8% sequentially, small-business hiring has slowed, and manufacturing in the Midwest is at a two-and-a-half-year low point. Financial crises are notoriously difficult to recover from, and with the Federal Reserve having few tools remaining to battle a liquidity trap, not to mention total policy gridlock in Congress, a tepid recovery with persistently high unemployment is quickly becoming the new normal.
In slightly lighter news, a pair of Dow components dominated water-cooler gossip, as it appeared they had found new flames.
Shares of Monster Beverage
Microsoft
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