Stock Market Watch

Stocks End on a Mixed Note; Post Gains for July

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Stocks ended on a mixed note in trading on Wednesday even as the Federal Reserve maintained its $85 billion a month bond purchase program. However, all three major indexes posted gains for the month of July.

Investors were focused on the Fed’s latest monetary policy statement in the last few days as it was expected to provide hints on when the central bank plans to start easing its bond purchase program. The Fed said in its statement that persistently low inflation could hamper economic growth. The Fed’s statement came after investors digested some robust economic data released earlier in the day.

A report from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. GDP grew 1.70% in the second quarter, beating consensus forecast. Meanwhile, a report from ADP showed that the private sector in the U.S. added 200,000 jobs in July.

The Dow Jones ended the day 0.14% lower at 15,499.54, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.01% lower at 1,685.73, and the Nasdaq ended the day 0.27% higher at 3,626.37.

For the month of July, the Dow Jones rose 3.96%, the S&P 500 rose 4.95%, and the Nasdaq rose 6.55%.

Basic Materials sector was the worst performer in the S&P 500, ending the day 0.52% lower. Consumer Non-Cyclical was the best performer, ending the day 0.73% higher. Telecom sector ended the day 0.60% higher.

Among the major movers on Wednesday included Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD), which ended the day 10.81% lower at $15.64, Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), which ended the day 2.20% lower at $36.80, and Sodastream International Ltd. (NASDAQ: SODA), which ended the day 11.59% higher at $65.08.

 








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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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