Stocks Diverge Amid Mixed Banking Results…..
U.S. equities finished mixed as markets in the U.S. returned to action following the three-day holiday weekend. Q4 earnings season continued to heat up, with investors sifting through differing results from Dow member Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, while Travelers Companies warned that its upcoming results will be lower than forecasts. The economic calendar started off a bit slow before beginning to heat up tomorrow, but today a read on New York manufacturing showed an unexpected tumble for January. Treasury yields were mixed, and the U.S. dollar gained ground, while crude oil prices advanced, and gold traded to the downside. Asia finished mixed, and markets in Europe also diverged, following a flood of economic data, notably out of China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 392 points (1.1%) to 33,911, and the S&P 500 Index shed 8 points (0.2%) to 3,991, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 16 points (0.1%) to 11,095. In moderate volume, 4.2 billion shares of NYSE-listed stocks were traded, and 5.1 billion shares changed hands on the Nasdaq. WTI crude oil rose $0.32 to $80.18 per barrel. Elsewhere, the gold spot price was down $10.60 to $1,911.10 per ounce, and the Dollar Index rose 0.2% to 102.38.
New York manufacturing activity tumbles…..
The Empire Manufacturing Index, a measure of activity in the New York region, showed the index unexpectedly fell further into contraction territory (a reading below zero) for January. The index dropped to -32.9 from the -11.2 reading that was posted in December, and compared to the Bloomberg estimate of a move to a level of -8.6. The contraction in new orders accelerated noticeably, shipments dropped into contraction territory, and growth in employment slowed solidly. However, prices paid and received both decelerated but continued to expand solidly, and delivery times improved.
Treasury rates were mixed, as the yield on the 2-year note lost 1 bp to 4.21%, while the yield on the 10-year note gained 3 bps to 3.54%, and the 30-year bond rate rose 4 bps to 3.65%.
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