The Dow led the way higher today posting a gain of 0.89%. The S&P 500 gained 0.31% and the NASDAQ was lower by 0.11%. The gain for the S&P 500 marked the seventh consecutive positive session for the index.
Apple closed lower by over 5%. Their new product announcements overnight with China Mobile underwhelmed the market. The poor performance of the stock had a severe negative impact on both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. Activist investor Carl Icahn came out after the close and said he was aggressively buying shares late in the trading session.
The price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial average fared better as the largest member of the index, IBM, gained more than 2%. United Technology, Disney, Travelers, Microsoft, DuPont, and Exxon all gained better than 1% in today’s session.
Cyclical issues were in favor today. Energy, industrials, materials, and discretionary groups gained at least 0.50% today. The energy sector added 0.80% as crude gained 0.30%. Gold posted slight losses on the day but gold mining stocks rose by 0.80%.
The MBA Mortgage Index fell 13.5% to its lowest level since November 2008. Refinances declined 20.2%.
Source: PFS Group
