Although today was relatively light on economic news, that doesn't mean we didn't have a few key stories moving the market. As my Foolish colleague John Maxfield noted earlier, homebuilder sentiment improved to hit levels not seen since 2006 and renewed optimism that a bottom may finally be in for that sector. Conversely, a profit forecast cut from logistics company FedEx
Companies that helped the S&P 500
Hospital and outpatient-care operator Tenet Healthcare
Network equipment maker F5 Networks
Companies that hindered the S&P 500
As I mentioned, nothing sent the markets into a tailspin more than the profit forecast shortfall from logistics giant FedEx. The company blamed an increase in shipments by water and a global demand slowdown for much of its recent weakness, lowering its full-year EPS outlook to a range of $6.20-$6.60 from a previous outlook of$6.90-$7.40. As a gauge of global economic health, today's forecast doesn't seem to support optimists' thesis that global weakness is leveling off.
However, the "disaster du jour" of Tuesday goes to Advanced Micro Devices
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