The Dow Jones Industrial Average
Stocks started off on a sour note today on weak U.S. manufacturing news, as the Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Managers' Index declined for a third straight month in August and reached its lowest level since July 2009. This showing, of course, furthers the notion that the tepid U.S. recovery is losing steam in the second half of the year.
In similar fashion, the S&P 500 dropped 0.1%. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, escaped unscathed, rising 0.3% during today's trading session. In a sign of investor anxiety, the market's so-called "fear gauge," or the VIX
Around the markets
Shares of consumer-electronics uberpower Apple
Not too subtle. Think the number in that shadow is any kind of coincidence? I'll gladly take any bets saying otherwise.
However, Apple wasn't the only prominent storyline that investors should note today. In other tech news, shares of Netflix
In yet more, albeit probably unsurprising, tech news, shares of social-networking fallen star Facebook dropped 1.8% to close at a new all-time low. Adding insult to injury, Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter in Facebook's now-infamous IPO, sparked today's sell-off after its own research department lowered its price targets on the reeling stock.
Where to go from here
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