Stock Market News for January 07, 2010 - Market News
U.S. stocks ended the day little changed as a mixed bag of economic data and caution ahead of the government’s employment report on Friday kept traders on the sidelines. The FOMC minutes did not sound too convincing on the economy’s upturn, and traders pondered over the economy’s direction.
US dollar weakened as the release of the minutes strengthened expectations interest rates would continue to remain exceptionally low. The weakness in dollar sent commodity prices higher and Treasuries lower. Although inflationary risks were deemed low, the policy makers appeared less convinced about the recovery's strength, with housing still a concern.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day almost unchanged, closing at 10,574. The broader S&P 500, helped by the strength in its basic material and oil and gas components, closed at its highest level since October 1, 2008, up 0.1% to 1,137. The NASDAQ closed down 0.3% at 2,301, hurt by weakness in tech shares. The market’s measure of volatility, the CBOE Vix, remained under twenty, finishing the day off 1% at 19.16. Volume on the NYSE remained a modest 1.11 billion shares, with advancing shares beating decliners by a three-to-two margin.
The yield on the 10-year note rose to 3.80% from 3.75% late Tuesday. Prices on the 2-year gained 1/32 as the 10-year declined 17/32 in price.
Crude prices continued their recent run, jumping $1.41 to $83.18, recording their tenth straight session increase. Prices hit their highest since October 1, 2008, despite a weekly stockpile report showing a 1.3 million barrel gain, against expectations of a 300K barrel drawdown. Freezing weather also helped the crude’s advance as Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) jumped 5% to $45.84 while copper producer Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) led the material companies to their biggest gain among the ten S&P 500 industry groups.
Forex markets took a beating this morning after Japan’s new finance minister said he would like the yen to weaken a “bit more," reversing the policy stance of his hawkish predecessor. The news follows yesterday's report from a European Central Bank board member, stating European members unlikely to bail Greece out from under its pile of debt.
Nevertheless, while near-term economic recovery prospects remain doubtful, the Fed's Bullard noted the employment picture is improving, although the recovery has yet to reach a level supportive of job additions.
The preceding article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
