Following the previous day's skyrocket-in-flight performance, the nearly flat ending yesterday may seem less than thrilling.
Index |
Gain / Loss |
Ending Value |
Gain / Loss % |
---|---|---|---|
Dow Jones Industrial Average |
+21.04 | 12,418.42 | 0.17% |
S&P | +0.24 | 1,277.30 | 0.02% |
Nasdaq |
-0.36 | 2,648.36 | (0.01%) |
Of course, where the markets ended doesn't tell us where they began. The markets quickly dropped lower in early trading, with the Nasdaq trading down as much as 0.8% in the early morning. It was a slow and steady climb that brought all three indices nearer to their market open.
An explanation
The markets seemed to shake off lingering concerns about the eurozone implosion, even as the euro dropped against the dollar. This seems unusual, since not long ago a weakening euro was likely to drag things down on this side of the pond. Jim Paulsen, CIO at Wells Capital Management, thinks it can be considered a "delinking" of our economy to Europe's woes. There is good reason to agree with him. The 50-day correlation between S&P e-mini futures and the euro dropped to 0.22, the lowest level since mid-September. This could be a sign that investors are increasingly confident about the state of the U.S. economy and less concerned (or just exhausted with) the European one.
Ultimately, the rise from the early morning drop was also buoyed by strong retailing data and a report of increased car sales. A trade group for malls reported that sales climbed 5.3% last week.
Bright spots
Just because the day was flat, that doesn't mean there weren't any big winners. Recent market dunce Netflix
Shares of Ford
Dark clouds
A few bright spots couldn't hide the dark cloud that officially formed, as The Wall Street Journal reported that Eastman Kodak
The consistent winner?
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