Market Update

Action was mostly mixed this morning, but a lack of positive leadership has allowed stocks to descend to sizable losses.

The tepid tone to premarket trade came amid moderate weakness abroad, along with news that overall durable goods orders increased by 2.2% in February and an even softer 1.6% when excluding transportation items. Many economists had expected stronger growth.

Without any directional cues in the early going, stocks stayed near the neutral line. However, without anything to drive stocks to new heights — just yesterday morning the S&P 500 set an incrementally improved multi-year high — participants have been compelled to pocket profits.

Selling interest has been especially pronounced among natural resource plays. The action has exacerbated weakness among commodities, which are being clipped in response to concerns about softer demand. With the CRB Index down 1.2% and oil off by 2.1% at $105.05 per barrel following a bearish inventory report, both the Energy sector and the Materials sector are down 1.9%.

Tech and Financials, arguably the two most influential sectors in broad market trade, attempted to provide some support through mid-morning trade, but they have since succumbed to the efforts of sellers. That said, the pair has managed to limit losses to 0.5%, which isn’t much worse than the 0.3% loss collectively displayed by Consumer Staples. Consumer Staples currently make up the best performing sector.

The dollar has attracted only a modest bid. It is currently up 0.2% against a collection of competing currencies. The sterling pound is under considerable pressure, though; it was last quoted with a 0.6% loss at $1.59 following news that the United Kingdom reported downwardly revised data that showed its economy contracted by 0.3% during the fourth quarter.

Treasuries have had a quiet day with the 10-year Note dancing along the neutral line. However, action could heat up with the imminent release of results from an auction of 5-year Notes. DJ30 -85.14 NASDAQ -24.46 SP500 -11.52 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 670/895 mln/1750 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 845/325 mln/2105

Market Update