Both the Dow and S&P 500 were up fractionally today. There were renewed concerns regarding derivative related losses at Italian banks. Those fears were heard on trading desks throughout the day but had little impact.
Problems with banks and Burlusconi related issues with the next election put the Italian market under pressure. These issues spread to other markets in Europe but had little impact in the U.S.
Agricultural products and airlines were the best performing areas of the market today. Transports, homebuilders and technology lagged the broader market. Within the transports, airlines were actually stronger and the rails were traded ahead of the tape. The transports were off on weak earnings reports from the trucking sector. Some truckers sold of sharply after reporting earnings below expectations.
Commodities were mostly higher, with precious metals, crude, wheat and natural gas trading higher. Crude oil traded fractionally higher and natural gas was up by 1.2%. Materials stocks saw buying in the steel space and chemicals were weaker.
Media stocks were mixed today. Large media conglomerates reported outstanding earnings and traded higher. Time Warner traded higher by more than 4% on good earnings. Disney closed at an all-time high after they reported earnings last night. Gaming stocks did not follow suit and traded lower on concerns regarding the continued growth in the important Macau market. Social media stocks traded higher after Zynga reported earnings. Facebook, Pandora and YELP all traded higher in response to the Zynga report.
Source: PFS Group
