U.S. investors seem to have grown tougher skin over the past few weeks. Not too long ago, the mere thought of going over the fiscal cliff, a possible European default, or four more years of President Obama would have caused the markets to fall. But today, the announcement that Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will resign once the country's 2013 budget is finalized -- resulting in higher Italian bond yields, which puts further pressure on the struggling country -- wasn't enough to shake investors' nerves. Even with this news and few other macro happenings today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -1.19%) is up 34 points, or 0.26%, as of 12:40 p.m. EST. So far during today's trading session, the index has 11 stocks in the red and 19 moving higher. Let's take a look at what's causing a few stocks to become the losers of the day.
Today's big Dow losers
Shares of specialty retailer Home Depot (HD -0.31%) are down more than 1.25% today. A Bloomberg report indicates that while the homebuilders are making money, a large chunk of it is coming from the mortgages they are writing -- not the homes being built. Having said that, we are beginning to see more new homes sold each month, inventory levels are shrinking, and home prices are increasing across the nation. The issue with Home Depot is that the stock price has risen to all-time highs, and the smallest bit of industry-relevant news could send the stock lower.
Both of the Dow banking stocks, Bank of America (BAC -1.40%) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM -0.15%), are dipping today. Bank of America has lost 0.66%, while JPMorgan is down 0.34%. Both companies have had a good year: B of A shareholders watched their investment rise by more than 90% year to date, and JPMorgan shareholders saw their stock increase by 27%. Recently, my Fool colleague Dan Caplinger reviewed how Bank of America performed in 2012. Click here to find that article, or click here for a 2012 history lesson on JPMorgan.
