Traders-Blog.com

Today was a mixed day with the Dow Jones industrial average closing down 2.46 to 10,419.59, while the Nasdaq composite was up 6.06 or 0.3% to 2,116.84, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 closed up 0.67 to 1,215.29. However, for the five-day period, the Nasdaq lost 2%, the S&P 500 lost 1.8% and the Dow lost 2.1%.

After three sessions of losses, today the market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners narrowly beat losers by a 16 to 15 score as 1.51 billion shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by 18 to 11 as 1.63 billion shares changed hands.

The Dow ended the day in negative territory, due in large part to a 5.7% drop in shares of Alcoa after the aluminum giant warned on its third-quarter results. Alcoa Inc. fell $1.48 to $24.42, its lowest level in over two years on reports of missing third-quarter earnings. Exxon Mobil closed down $1.15 to $63.83 as the oil sector continued to lose steam in tune with the price of the raw commodity. Some gainers on the Dow were General Motors that closed up $0.64 to $31.07, and Hewlett-Packard ended up $0.46 to $28.47. Honeywell was a bright spot with a rise of 89 cents to $37.48. Merrill Lynch said that the company had a 12-month price target of $45.Honeywell up $0.89 to $37.48, and United Technologies closed up $0.81 to $51.70.

After a torrid week, some tech stocks that moved positively were eBay that ended up $1.15 or 3% to $38.87, Google that closed up $3.99 to $315.36, and Amazon ended up $0.11 to $42.19. Goldman Sachs reiterated its “buy” rating on eBay, saying it sees a 20 percent potential upside to its 12-month share price target of $46. However, disappointing sales outlook from Oracle Corp. led its shares to tumble $1.07 or 7.9% to $12.45. Stock of Palm closed down $6.28 or 18% to $28.69 on reports of missing second-quarter target.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plans to close its more costly tire making plants, reducing capacity by 8% to 12% and acquire more of its products from Asia. This led the share to gain 50 cents to $15.50.

U.S. light crude Oil for November delivery fell $2.31 or 3.5% to settle at $64.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However, during the week, the contract rose 1.3%. Gasoline and natural-gas futures contracts also ended lower on the session, but higher on the week.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter