Closing Market Summary: Key Indices End Mixed The major averages ended the first session of the week on a mixed note as the S&P 500 lost 0.4% while the Dow added 0.1%. The Nasdaq underperformed with a loss of 0.9% as momentum names lagged once again.
Not counting the first 30 minutes or the final hour, the S&P 500 spent the session inside of a two-point range just above its flat line. The benchmark index made a couple appearances above the 1,800 level, but was unable to end above that mark. Meanwhile, the Dow spent the bulk of the session north of 16,000, but settled almost 15 points below that level.
Stocks tumbled to fresh lows during the last hour of action amid comments from activist investor Carl Icahn who said he is ‘very cautious' with regard to equities and could see a ‘big drop.' Mr. Icahn cited earnings driven by low interest rates as the reason for his views.
The Dow ended just above its flat line after outperforming throughout the session. Boeing (BA 138.36, +2.28) provided support after the company received orders for new jets. In addition, Goldman Sachs (GS 165.68, +1.28) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 55.74, +0.87) also underpinned the index. In turn, the outperformance of these names translated into relative strength for their respective sectors as financials (-0.1%) and industrials (+0.2%) were the only two cyclical groups to end ahead of the S&P. On the flip side, energy (-0.7%) and materials (-0.7%) were pressured by the underlying commodities. Crude oil tumbled 0.9% to $93.02/bbl after surrendering its slim morning advance. Meanwhile, gold (-1.2%, $1272.50/ozt) and copper (-0.7%, $3.149/lb) futures also ended on their lows.
Elsewhere, the Nasdaq was pressured by several momentum names as Facebook (FB 45.83, -3.18), LinkedIn (LNKD 222.07, -8.99), Priceline.com (PCLN 1127.93, -11.60), and Tesla (TSLA 121.58, -13.87) lost between 1.0% and 10.2%. A handful of top components also weighed as Apple (AAPL 518.63, -6.36) lost 1.2% and Microsoft (MSFT 37.20, -0.64) fell 1.7% after receiving a downgrade from Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. Treasuries settled on their highs with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 2.66%. Today's participation was well below average as just over 650 million shares changed hands on the floor of the NYSE.
On the Fedspeak circuit, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said the FOMC missed an ‘excellent opportunity' to begin the tapering process by not reducing the size of its asset purchases in September. Mr. Plosser went on to say he would have preferred a fixed amount for quantitative easing instead of an open-ended program. While Mr. Plosser does not have a vote on the board this year, he will be a voting member in 2014.
Today's economic data was limited to just two items. The September net long-term TIC flows report indicated an $8.9 billion outflow of foreign capital from U.S. denominated assets. This followed the prior month's $8.9 billion outflow. Separately, the November NAHB Housing Market Index checked in at 54, which was below the consensus estimate of 55 and unchanged from the downwardly revised (from 55) October reading. Tomorrow, the third quarter employment cost index will be reported at 8:30 ET.
o Nasdaq +30.8% YTD o Russell 2000 +30.4% YTD o S&P 500 +25.6% YTD o DJIA +21.9% YTD