Stock Market Watch

Stocks Struggle for Direction

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Stocks struggled for direction in trading on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finishing the day flat. The Dow Jones, meanwhile, ended the day marginally lower, ending a three-day rally. Stocks struggled as investors weighed some solid corporate earnings reports against disappointing durable goods orders data for the month of March.

The Dow Jones ended the day 0.29% lower at 14,676.30, the S&P 500 ended the day flat at 1,578.79, and the Nasdaq ended the day 0.01% higher at 3,269.65.

Basic Materials sector was the best performer in the S&P 500, ending the day 2.25% higher. Energy sector also rose sharply, ending the day 1.28% higher. Consumer Non-Cyclical sector was the worst performer in the S&P 500, ending the day 2.08% lower. Healthcare sector also fell sharply, ending the day 1.40% lower.

Among the major movers on Wednesday were Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), which ended the day 3.79% higher at $31.76, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which ended the day 0.16% lower at $405.46, and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG), which ended the day 5.88% lower at $77.12.

On the economic front, a report from the Commerce Department showed that durable goods orders fell 5.7% in March, the biggest drop in seven months. Economists were expecting durable goods orders to slip 2.8%.

European markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 Index in London closing 0.40% higher, and the CAC 40 Index in Paris closing 1.58% higher. Asian markets ended mostly higher overnight, with the Nikkei 225 Index in Japan closing 2.32% higher, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closing 1.73% higher.

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.

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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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