Today’s better start in the markets was undermined to some extent by another sharp decline in oil prices. The energy stocks CVX and XOM sold off early. In addition, CAT and IBM were down today. No surprise for the expected decline in IBM, plus the industrial components 3M and UTX were down for the third day in a row.
The DOW added 37 points today thanks in part to another strong gain and a new all-time high in UNH. The financials also bounced back today; BAC, JPM, and C were all ahead by more than 1% by the closing bell.
The S&P 500 was higher by 3 and the NASDAQ gained 22 today. PCLN was flat, TLSA was unstoppable at another new all-time high and AAPL, AMZN, ISRG and GOOGL were at their best ever levels, too.
There were no economic reports ahead of the trifecta of events tomorrow: the UK elections, the ECB central bank/euro decision, and the Comey testimony in Congress.
Bond yields were a little higher with the 10-year Treasury Note at 2.15%. The dollar was unchanged, gold was flat $1,293 and crude oil fell below $46 a barrel on an unexpected rise in U.S. inventories.
Donald M. Selkin
These are excerpts from Don Selkin’s Daily Market Notes, abbreviated and updated with permission from the author. Don Selkin is the Chief Market Strategist at Newbridge Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC and provides the Fair Value analysis for CNBC each morning. The commentary provided in this Market Letter is intended to provide timely market analysis and should not be considered a research report. This Market Letter may contain, and is limited to: Discussions of broad based indices; Commentaries on economic, political or market conditions; Technical analyses concerning the demand and supply for a sector, index or industry based in trading volume and price; Statistical summaries of multiple companies’ financial data, including listings of current ratings; and, Recommendations regarding increasing or decreasing holdings in particular industries or securities. This Market Letter does not make a financial or investment recommendation or otherwise promotes a product or service of the firm. This Market Letter contains only news, facts, and commentary on information previously reported from a news source believed to be accurate and reliable by the author. These news sources include the following: Bloomberg Financial, Reuters, and the Associated Press.