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Stocks veered erratically on a mix of economic data, record oil prices, corporate earnings and fretting about the economy. A string of lackluster earnings reports and economic news fueled investors’ nervousness about the direction of the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 3.33 or 0.02% to 13,671. 92, the broader S&P 500 closed down 1.48 or 0.10% to 1,514.40, and the tech-fueled Nasdaq composite closed down 23.90 or 0.86% to 2,750. 86.

Market breadth was negative. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 1.6 billion shares, and declining stocks barely outpaced those advancing. On the Nasdaq, more than 2.7 billion shares exchanged hands, and declining stocks topped advancers 3 to 2.

Latest economic numbers and record high oil prices slammed stocks today. Orders for durable goods fell unexpectedly by 1.7% in September, against the expected gain of 1.5%. The number of jobless claims last week fell by 8,000 to 331,000, which was a smaller drop than expected. The new home sales came in slightly weaker than expected.  All this has led to a jittery market. Stock traders are expecting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again when it meets next week and are anxiously reacting to each piece of news.

Shares of Comcast closed down $2.57 or 10.78% to $21.28, on reporting earnings that met forecast, but the company lowered its free cash- flow guidance for the year. Its third-quarter profit fell 54% and new customer additions slowed amid increasing competition from phone and satellite TV companies. It earned $560 million, compared with $1.22 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue rose by 21% to $7.78 billion from $6.43 billion a year ago.

Stock of Motorola closed up $0.75 or 4.04% to $19.30, on reporting a plunge in earnings. It posted profit of $60 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of $968 million. Sales fell to $8.81 billion from $10.6 billion a year earlier. Its sales in mobile devices segment fell 36% as it has struggled to produce popular handsets of late.

Shares of Dow Chemical closed down $0.32 or 0.73% to $43.66, after it saw a bigger-than-forecast drop in earnings. It reported a 21% drop in third-quarter net income as strong international growth failed to offset continuing weakness in North America and rising raw material and energy costs. Net sales in the latest quarter rose 10% to $13.59 billion from $12.36 billion.

Stock of Microsoft closed up $0.74 or 2.37% to $31.99, after stating that it was making a $240 million investment in social networking site Facebook, beating out rivals Google and Yahoo. It also committed to expand its pre-existing relationship as exclusive third-party representative for advertising on Facebook.

Shares of Sony closed up $2.69 or 5.94% to $47.98, after it posted $647 million in net profit for the most recent quarter, up from $14.7 million in the same period the previous year. Quarterly sales jumped 12.3% to $18.27 billion; from $16.2 billion.

Oil prices jumped $3.36 to $90.46 a barrel, notching a new intraday high on the New York Mercantile Exchange after Lebanese troops fired on Israeli warplanes and Turkey continued shelling Kurdish positions in Northern Iraq, raising fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter