Stock Market News for December 31, 2014 – Zacks Investment …
Benchmarks ended in the red zone on Tuesday as reignited political turmoil in Greece continued to weigh on investor mood amidst low trading volume. Moreover, disappointing home price data also dented investor sentiment. The benchmarks witnessed their 12th lightest trade volume this year on Tuesday. The Dow finished below the 18k mark for the first time after crossing the same on Dec 23. The S&P 500 retreated from its 53rd record high yesterday after reaching the mark a day before.
For a look at the issues currently facing the markets, make sure to read today’s Ahead of Wall Street article
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.3% to close at 17,983.07. The Standard & Poor 500 (S&P 500) lost 0.5% to close at 2,080.35. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 4,777.44; declining 0.6%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) gained 5.7% to settle at 15.92. A total of about 2.4 billion shares were traded on Tuesday in NYSE. Decliners outpaced advancing stocks on the NYSE. For 56% stocks that declined, 41% advanced.
On Tuesday, trading volume was low again. Investors believe that the trend will continue this holiday week. Most market participants will be busy celebrating New Year.
Moreover, investors continued to remain concerned about the political situation in Greece. On Monday, the country’s parliament rejected Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s preferred presidential candidate in a third and final vote. As a result of which, Greece is expected to head to polls in early 2015. Antonis Samaras failed to secure 180 votes needed to back his candidate. This rejection means that the parliament will be dissolved and there would be a snap election on Jan 25.
Meanwhile, the S&P/Case-Shiller’s 20-city composite index reading showed that home prices in the U.S. declined 0.1% in October, registering its second-straight month of decline. However, following a seasonal adjustment, the reading indicated that prices in 20 cities rose at a rate of 0.8% in October, its highest pace in seven months. The index also showed that prices increased 4.5% in October from that in Oct 2013, the slowest annual growth in two years. Year-on-year growth in September was 4.8%.
However, the Conference Board reported that Consumer Confidence Index rebounded in December after declining in November. The index increased to 92.6 in December from November’s reading of 91, ahead of the consensus estimate of 92.2. The Present Situation Index rose from 93.7 in November to 98.6 in December, reaching its highest level since Feb 2008. The Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, Lynn Franco, stated: “Consumer confidence rebounded modestly in December, propelled by a considerably more favorable assessment of current economic and labor market conditions.”
Separately, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) declined 2.1% on Tuesday after gaining 1.2% a day before. The sector was the worst performer among the S&P 500 sectors yesterday. Key utilities stocks including Duke Energy Corporation (DUK – Analyst Report), The AES Corporation (AES – Analyst Report), Southern Company (SO – Analyst Report), Dominion Resources, Inc. (D – Snapshot Report) and Exelon Corporation (EXC – Analyst Report) lost 2.5%, 2.4%, 2.2%, 2.4% and 1.4%, respectively. All of the S&P 500 sectors ended in negative territory on Tuesday.
Additionally, energy shares continued to decline on Tuesday despite a recovery in oil prices. The prices of WTI crude oil and Brent crude oil gained 0.9% and 0.03% to $54.12 per barrel and $57.09 a barrel, respectively. Key energy stocks including Schlumberger Limited (SLB – Analyst Report), Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK – Analyst Report), Baker Hughes Incorporated (BHI – Analyst Report) and Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (HP – Analyst Report) lost 1%, 1.9%, 0.7% and 1.9%, respectively.
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Stock Market News for December 31, 2014 – Zacks Investment …
