Stocks End on a Mixed Note
Stocks ended on a mixed note in trading today following a two-day market shutdown due to Hurricane Sandy. All three major indexes, meanwhile, posted a loss for the month of October.
The Dow Jones ended the day 0.08% lower at 13,096.46, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.02% higher at 1,412.16, and the Nasdaq ended the day 0.36% lower at 2,977.23.
For the month of October, the Dow Jones fell 2.54%, the S&P 500 fell 1.98%, and the Nasdaq fell 4.46%.
The U.S. equity market opened for trading on Wednesday following a two-day shutdown. Markets remained closed on Monday and Tuesday due to Hurricane Sandy. The damage from the devastating storm is estimated to be between $10 billion and $50 billion.
Stocks got off to a strong start in trading earlier today, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 rising sharply. However, stocks failed to hold on to their gains in a thin trading session.
Healthcare sector was the worst performer in the S&P 500 today, ending the day 0.79% lower. Technology sector also dropped, ending the day 0.16% lower. Consumer Cyclical sector was the best performer in the S&P 500 today, ending the day 1.40% higher.
Among the major gainers and losers in trading today were Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW), which ended the day 3.25% higher at $32.38, General Motors Company (NYSE: GM), which ended the day 9.54% higher at $25.50, Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), which ended the day 3.79% lower at $21.11, The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), which ended the day 29.01% lower at $12.73, and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), which ended the day 1.92% lower at $49.12.
On the economic front, the Chicago PMI of manufacturing activity rose in the month of October. Later this week, investors will get the nonfarm payrolls data for the month of October. Economists expect the October jobs report to show an increase of 125,000.
European markets ended mostly lower earlier today, with the FTSE 100 Index in London closing 1.15% lower, and the CAC 40 Index in Paris closing 0.87% lower. Asian markets ended mostly higher overnight, with the Nikkei 225 Index in Japan closing 0.98% higher, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closing 1% higher.
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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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