A quiet day ends on a dull note as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) posts a loss of 34 points. Earlier I noted the tight intraday range and a quick glance at the intraday chart shows the afternoon was even less exciting. The CBOE Internet Index (INX) ended as the strongest area, and the only index to gain more than 1%. The Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI), US Oil Fund (USO), and SPDR Homebuilders (XHB) were the weakest groups.
My midday post touched on the weekly returns and the end-of-day figures are no more exciting. Compared to last Friday's close, the Dow lost just over 1%. The S&P 500 (SPX), Nasdaq Composite (COMP), and Russell 2000 (RUT) finished close enough to last Friday's price for me to call them unchanged.
The flat return is somewhat interesting when you consider we started the week with the DJIA plunging 200 points. A bull could argue resilience. A bear could argue we are just running in place.
A look to the daily charts shows a mostly range-bound picture. Last night I mentioned that the Nasdaq Composite could still be described as being in a stair-step uptrend. For that to continue to hold true, buyers will need to emerge. As for the other indices, they have some wiggle room on both sides before significant levels are hit. With next week's holiday looming, it wouldn't surprise me to see the action dry up next week. That could make for lackluster trading. Hopefully I am wrong about that.
That wraps up my thoughts for the week - have a great weekend!
Chart Courtesy of Thomson Reuters
| Index |
Index Value |
Point Change |
Percent Change |
| S&P 500 (SPX) |
918.9 |
-1.4 points |
-0.15 percent |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) |
8438.4 |
-34.0 points |
-0.40 percent |
| Nasdaq Composite (COMP) |
1838.2 |
8.7 points |
0.47 percent |
| Russell 2000 (RUT) |
513.2 |
4.0 points |
0.79 percent |
| CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) |
25.93 |
-0.43 points |
-1.6 percent |
Charts Courtesy of Thomson Reuters
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