Upbeat factory orders and strong car sales did little to inspire Wall Street Tuesday with all three indices slipping into the red with volume less than half the daily average. With the exception of some positive action immediately after the release of factory orders, stocks drifted in a razor-thin range for most of the day, but did not wander far from Monday's record levels in the Dow Industrials and S&P 500. Nearly all sectors were lower with the exception of energy and utilities, the former on the rising price of oil, the latter on a 7 basis point jump in the 10-year yield.
Despite the lower close, there was certainly not a lack of market-friendly news. Factory orders improved 0.7% in April, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain and followed an upwardly revised 1.5% gain in March. This
Car sales were very impressive, underscoring the resilience in consumer spending. Nissan Motor (TOKYO:7201) sales soared 19%, followed by a 17% gain in sales for Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) and Chrysler. General Motors (NYSE:GM), struggling with massive recalls, still reported an impressive 13% gain in sales.
Here's Where The Markets Stood At The Close
US MARKETS
- Dow Jones Industrial Index was down 21 points (-0.1%) at 16,722
- S&P 500 was down less than a point (-0.04%) at 1,924
- NASDAQ Composite Index was down 3 points (-0.1%) at 4,234
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
- FTSE 100 was down 0.41%
- Nikkei 225 was up 0.66%
- Hang Seng Index was up 0.91%
- Shanghai China Composite Index was down 0.04%
UPSIDE MOVERS
- (+) IDCC Raises Q2 revenue guidance above street; signs patent license deal with Samsung
- (+) HSH Pilgrim's Price (PPC) enters bidding war with Tyson Foods (TSN)
- (+) ACHC Plans to buy UK's Partnerships In Care for $660 mln, expects boost to earnings
- (+) ACFN Subsidiary names new chairman
- (+) SARA Rocky 3 well exceeds expectations.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
- (-) CMCM Reported a steep decline in Q1 earnings despite higher Y-O-Y revenues
- (-) ZQK Reported disappointing earnings and revenue, pushed back profit improvement plan
- (-) COCO Reports of poor admittance standards, fraudulent endorsement letters
- (-) KKD Reported weaker than expected Q1 revenue and cut its FY 2015 outlook
After Hours Stock News From Midnight Trader.
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