Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
Wall Street just keeps acknowledging that it's spoiled. Markets slipped today as a majority of economists are expecting the Federal Reserve to pare back its bond-buying at its next meeting in September. The $85 billion monthly infusion of capital to the U.S. economy certainly won't keep up forever, and as markets begin to realize that, they aren't reacting to the news well. The S&P 500 Index (^GSPC 1.74%) dropped 8 points, or 0.5%, to close at 1,685 today.
Communication equipment manufacturer JDS Uniphase (JDSU 7.54%) was one of the index's worst performers Wednesday, tumbling 3.9% after weak sales in the quarter discouraged investors. Most analysts remained steadfast on the stock, sticking with their buy ratings despite lower sales expectations for the first quarter. The Chinese marketplace could be a big boon to JDS -- if the world's second-largest economy remains robust -- because Chinese telecom firms are expected to expand with the help of the company's equipment.
China played a heavy role in Newfield Exploration's (NFX +0.00%) decline today, too, as the stock shed 3.8% after news that an equipment installation went awry. The oil and gas company announced an unexpected issue with a hydraulic jacking installation in the Pearl River Mouth basin, a project that was expected to start churning out oil by the beginning of next year.
Lastly, Sherwin-Williams (SHW 0.61%) lost 3% Wednesday despite little negative company-related news. It's certainly not a problem with revenue -- sales at the iconic paint company have been rising about 10% a year for the past three years; meanwhile, net income jumped more than 40% in 2012 alone. The issue may be more about valuation: The stock currently has high expectations, trading at more than 26 times earnings.
