March 29, 2024

Questions Remain as Market Falls for Second Day

The stock market fell again on Thursday and the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index closed below a crucial technical level after disappointing financial forecasts from eBay and other companies cast doubt on the market’s recent strength.

The S. P. 500 ended below its 50-day moving average of 1,543.04 for the first time this year, giving more weight to analysts’ concerns that the market’s recent rally was losing momentum, particularly after two days of sharp declines this week.

The Nasdaq 100 and the Russell 2000 indexes both have closed below their 50-day averages this week, adding to the overall technical pressure on the market.

Technology led the day’s fall. Shares of eBay dropped 5.9 percent to $52.82, a day after the e-commerce company posted results and gave a disappointing earnings forecast for the second quarter. The S. P. technology sector index lost 1.4 percent.

Apple shares extended their slide from Wednesday, when the stock broke below $400 on an intraday basis for the first time since December 2011. The stock tumbled 2.7 percent to close at $392.05 on Thursday.

The CBOE volatility index, Wall Street’s fear index, gained 6.4 percent to 17.56. The VIX, as it is known, is up roughly 46 percent for the week so far. It still remains well below its recent highs, but the gains could signal a change in the market trend.

“There’s definitely technical damage,” said Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist at Delta Global Asset Management. “I think that the period we had that had volatility tamped way down has likely ended.”

Stocks have rallied for much of the year on expectations that the American economy would continue to strengthen and that the Federal Reserve would keep its economic stimulus in place.

More recent data on the economy has been less upbeat. On Wednesday, reports showed that factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region cooled in April and that the index of leading economic indicators, a gauge of future economic activity, fell in March for the first time in seven months.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 81.45 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 14,537.14. The S. P. 500 dropped 10.40 points, or 0.67 percent, to 1,541.61. The Nasdaq composite index fell 38.31 points, or 1.20 percent, to 3,166.36.

After the bell, a number of prominent technology companies reported their financial results, including I.B.M., whose shares fell 4.2 percent to $198.45 in after-hours trading after its earnings missed analysts’ expectations.

After hours, shares of Google rose 2 percent after it released first-quarter results. It closed at $765.91. Shares of Microsoft shot up 2.7 percent to $29.57 after posting its results.

During Thursday’s regular session, volume was roughly 7.05 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT. In comparison, the average daily closing volume is about 6.36 billion this year.

Volume has been heavier on negative days this week, as many investors have anticipated a pullback for some time after stocks’ strong run to start the year and moved quickly to take profits.

The S. P. 500’s moving average was also the floor of the trading range during the last month, making 1,543 a crucial technical support, according to Richard Ross, global technical strategist at Auerbach Grayson.

Mr. Ross and other analysts noted that the S. P. 500 had posted negative second quarters in the last three years.

The S. P. health care sector also experienced big declines, with the UnitedHealth Group down 3.8 percent at $59.69, after the insurer lowered its 2013 revenue outlook.

Other decliners included Morgan Stanley, whose shares dropped 5.4 percent to $20.31 after the bank reported revenue from fixed-income and commodities trading fell sharply from a year earlier. Shares of Bank of America, which posted disappointing results on Wednesday, fell 2.2 percent to $11.44 on Thursday.

The earnings of companies in the S. P. 500 are expected to have risen 1.9 percent in the first quarter, up from the 1.5 percent estimate at the start of the month, based on actual results from 82 companies and estimates for the rest, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Of companies that have reported, 72 percent have topped analysts’ expectations for their earnings, but only 43.9 percent have exceeded revenue forecasts.

In the bond market, interest rates slipped. The price of the Treasury’s 10-year note rose 4/32, to 102 27/32, while its yield dipped to 1.69 percent, from 1.70 percent late Wednesday.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Earnings Data Brings the Bulls Back

A drop in the Consumer Price Index, which reinforced Wall Street’s expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep its monetary stimulus in place, added to the bullish sentiment.

The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index dropped 2.3 percent on Monday, its worst one-day percentage loss since Nov. 7. Still, the S. P. 500 is up 10.4 percent since the start of the year after enjoying a strong first-quarter run, partly as a result of the Fed’s continued stimulus efforts.

“Yesterday I think was a bit out of line,” said Brian Amidei, managing director at HighTower Advisors. “But I think the trend is that the market is consolidating, that we’re going to see a little bit of a pullback here over the next month and a half or so, and then we’ll get on to greener pastures.”

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 157.58 points, or 1.08 percent, to close at 14,756.78. The S. P. 500 gained 22.21 points, or 1.43 percent, to 1,574.57. The Nasdaq composite index rose 48.14 points, or 1.50 percent, to 3,264.63.

The price of gold gained $26.20, or 1.93 percent, to $1,386.80 an ounce on Tuesday, after Monday’s sell-off, when it plunged 9.35 percent, or $140.40, its biggest one-day decline in more than 30 years. The steep drop in the prices of gold and other commodities helped set off the sharp sell-off in stocks on Monday.

Among the stocks moving higher on Tuesday, Coca-Cola rose 5.7 percent to $42.37, giving the Dow its biggest boost. In reporting earnings on Tuesday, Coca-Cola, the world’s largest soft drink maker, reported a higher-than-expected profit and a deal to unload some distribution territory to five independent bottlers in the United States.

The stock of another Dow component, the health care company Johnson Johnson, gained 2.1 percent, to $83.44, after it reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

Earnings for companies in the S. P. 500 are now expected to have risen 1.8 percent in the first quarter, based on actual results from 42 companies and estimates for the rest, up from a recent estimate of 1.1 percent growth.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average, often an indicator of investors’ perception of the economy, gained 2.2 percent.

After the closing bell, shares of Yahoo fell 4.9 percent to $22.62 in after-hours trading after the company reported earnings that were primarily bolstered by its investments abroad rather than its operations.

Among other earnings, Goldman Sachs reported higher quarterly profit but said revenue from client trading fell 10 percent, raising questions about the health of its biggest moneymaker. Goldman’s shares fell 1.6 percent to $144.10.

Analysts’ positive views on basic materials companies helped stocks in that sector. International Paper gained 4.7 percent, to $47.47, and Vulcan Materials jumped 6.8 percent, to $48.69.

In the bond market, interest rates moved higher. The price of the Treasury’s 10-year note fell
10/32, to 102 26/32, while its yield rose to 1.72 percent from 1.69 percent late Monday.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Wall Street and Gold Slump

The prices of stocks and gold appeared to chase each other sharply lower on Monday after a report said growth unexpectedly slowed in China.

The stall in the rise of the world’s second-largest economy pushed Wall Street’s broadest stock index down 2.3 percent by the close of trading and put heavy selling pressure on gold, oil and other commodities.

The price of gold, which has been steadily drifting lower since the worst of the Great Recession passed, dropped another 9 percent Monday after a 5 percent drop on Friday. The market price of an ounce of gold ended trading in New York at a multiyear low; the April contract closed at $1,360.60, down $140.40.

Stocks, too, were continuing a pullback that began Friday after a report on falling retail sales for March. The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index slumped 2.3 percent, while the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.8 percent — more than 260 points — and the Nasdaq composite index lost 2.4 percent.

“None of the economic data has been very good for the last couple of weeks,” said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vt., told Reuters. “I wouldn’t say this is over yet, but there are enough indicators out there to really indicate that investors should approach this market with a degree of caution which doesn’t seem to exist right now.”

China’s economy expanded 7.7 percent in the first quarter, according to a government report. While that would be far above most industrial economies, it fell well short of forecasts for an increase of 8 percent and slowed from 7.9 percent during the final quarter of 2012.

Analysts described the data variously as “a big disappointment” and a “truckload of unpleasant surprises.” The Chinese economy finally began to pick up steam toward the end of last year. The data released Monday, however, suggested that the gradual recovery was proving more fragile than most analysts had expected.

Other preciious metals were hit by heavy selling: Silver fell to its lowest since October 2010, platinum to its weakest since August and palladium to a three-month low. And crude oil was off 1.8 percent in New York trading to $89.69 after a 2 percent drop Friday.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Wall Street Weakens

Wall Street opened weakly on Friday, pulling back from record levels, after reports showed an unexpected drop in retail sales and unimpressive earnings from major banks.

The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index lost 0.2 percent in morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 0.1 percent.

Data showed retail sales fell 0.4 percent in March, while February’s strong gain was revised down slightly. Consumer spending plays a key role in the American economy, accounting for two-thirds of activity.

Investors have been watching indications that economic growth could be softening, particularly after last week’s disappointing jobs number, but they have not derailed the market rally so far.

“It shows that the economy continues to weaken and consumers are cautious,” Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York, said about the retail numbers.

The advance in equities in recent months has been partly because of the Federal Reserve’s economic stimulus efforts, and analysts are viewing the first-quarter earnings season as a test for whether those gains are justified by corporate performance.

“I haven’t seen good enough news to warrant this huge rise in the market,” said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

JPMorgan Chase reported higher first-quarter profit, though revenue declined. Its stock was 0.2 percent lower. Wells Fargo was also lower, falling 0.8 percent. The bank’s profit was better than expected, but it made fewer home loans.

Earnings for S.P. 500 companies are expected to grow at a modest 1.2 percent in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Analysts said concerns over the euro zone debt crisis set a negative tone in the market Friday, with European Union finance ministers meeting during the day and Saturday and Cyprus’s bailout expected to be discussed. Euro zone stock markets were down more than 1 percent, while the FTSE 100 in London was off only 0.4 percent, in afternoon trading.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/13/business/economy/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Shares Move Up After Fed Release

Wall Street traded strongly higher on Wednesday as investors scooped up technology and financial shares that have lagged gains in other sectors recently.

The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index was up 1.1 percent in afternoon trading, hitting its highest level ever and breaking a record that had stood since October 2007. The benchmark index hit and then surpassed 1,567.10 to break its previous intraday high.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.9 percent in afternoon trading and the Nasdaq composite index added 1.7 percent. The Dow closed at a fresh record on Tuesday.

Financial shares helped lead Wednesday’s advance, with the S.P. financial sector index gaining 1.1 percent and the S.P. information technology sector index up 1.7 percent. In the past month, both sectors have lagged as investors pushed into more defensive areas, including health care and consumer staples.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting in March, released early on Wednesday, showed that a few policy makers expected to taper the pace of asset purchases by midyear and end them later this year, while several others expected to slow the pace a bit later and halt the quantitative easing program by year-end.

But because the meeting referenced in Wednesday’s minutes occurred before last week’s unemployment data — which showed that job creation was unexpectedly weak in March — the market may place less importance on it, said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Cincinnati.

Earlier, encouraging data from China buoyed investors’ optimism. Imports of key commodities rebounded in March, signaling domestic demand was picking up and would help drive the economy. Asian markets ended moderately higher, and European stocks were trading ahead about 2 percent in afternoon trading.

Investors were also positioning for the start of corporate earnings season. Among the 5 percent of S.P. 500 companies that have reported results so far, almost three-quarters have topped expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Family Dollar Stores reported weaker-than-expected profit on Wednesday. The stock started the day lower, but was up 0.3 percent by early afternoon.

Health Management Associates cut its outlook for 2013 earnings and revenue, citing weak patient admissions in the first quarter of the year. The stock slumped 16.8 percent.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Stocks Pull Ahead

The stock market advanced on Tuesday as earnings season got under way, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing at another nominal record high on a rally in cyclical shares.

With the day’s advance, the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index ended less than two points shy of its nominal record, recovering from steep losses last week.

The strength in the indexes indicates that investors are again using market declines as buying opportunities. The top sectors of the day, technology and energy, are groups that are closely tied to the pace of economic growth.

“It’s encouraging that we’re seeing cyclical sectors lead the rally,” said Joseph Tanious, global market strategist at J. P. Morgan Funds. “It’s a healthy sign — investors believe the market can continue to run higher.”

Among blue-chip technology stocks, Microsoft jumped $1.02, or 3.6 percent, to $29.61 as the Dow’s top percentage gainer. Intel shares shot up 66 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $21.75, and Hewlett-Packard rose 29 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $22.22.

The Dow industrials rose 59.98 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 14,673.46. The S. P. 500 gained 5.54 points, or 0.35 percent, to 1,568.61. The Nasdaq composite index added 15.61 points, or 0.48 percent, to 3,237.86.

While only 5 percent of S. P. 500 companies have reported results so far, almost three-quarters of those have topped expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data. Still, profits are seen rising just 1.5 percent from the year-ago quarter, down from estimates in January for growth of 4.3 percent.

“Expectations have gotten managed down to the point where we could more easily see companies beat expectations, making it easier for us to pop,” said Kristen Scarpa, an investment strategist at Barclays.

Late Monday, Alcoa reported earnings that beat expectations, though revenue was below forecasts. Shares of Alcoa, which as part of the Dow is unofficially seen as setting the tone for the earnings season, closed flat on the day at $8.39.

First Solar, which surged $12.31, or 45.5 percent, to $39.35, was the S. P. 500’s top gainer by far after forecasting 2013 earnings and revenue well above expectations.

The news lifted the solar sector, with Yingli Green Energy climbing 39 cents, or 21.1 percent, to $2.24, and Trina Solar up 56 cents, or 14.6 percent, at $4.40.

Recent reports have shown that the American economy is growing at a slow pace. The March employment report on Friday showed job creation was less than half of what economists had expected. Analysts said, however, that the market has the momentum to push indexes higher, even with the Dow industrials up 12 percent so far this year and the S. P. 500 up 10 percent.

J. C. Penney was the S. P. 500’s largest percentage loser, tumbling $1.94, or 12.2 percent, to $13.93 after the department store’s board ousted Ron Johnson as chief executive and replaced him with his predecessor, Myron E. Ullman.

Shares of Herbalife fell $1.44, or 3.8 percent, to $36.95 after it said that KPMG had resigned as its independent accountant. One of KPMG’s senior partners in the firm’s Los Angeles office was accused of leaking secret information to a stock trader about Herbalife and the footwear company Skechers USA. The accounting firm said Monday night that it had fired the partner.

In the bond market, interest rates showed little change. The price of the Treasury’s 10-year note slipped 2/32, to 102 8/32, while its yield held steady at 1.75 percent.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Economix Blog: Based on Relative Yields, Stocks Look Cheap

FLOYD NORRIS

FLOYD NORRIS

Notions on high and low finance.

My Off the Charts column this week looks at the popularity of junk bonds. Since 1999, they have outperformed stocks during both bull and bear markets. Issuance of such bonds has risen to record levels around the world, and yields are at historic lows.

Those declining yields have produced capital gains for bond owners, making the bonds more attractive to those who invest based on recent history.

As I talk to people these days, there seems to be widespread conviction that stocks are expensive, and that getting into the market now is highly risky. After all, the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index have risen to nominal record highs at a time when the American economy is hardly putting on an inspiring performance and Europe continues to stumble along.

Somehow people are not impressed by the fact that the S.P. 500 has earnings that are about 80 percent higher than they were in 1999, when the index reached levels almost as high as those reached this year.

At the suggestion of Bob Barbera, the co-director of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Financial Economics, I compared the earnings yield on the S.P. 500 to the yield on the Bank of America Merrill Lynch high yield bond index since 1994. Here are the results:


There are, of course, caveats. The earnings yield is simply the operating earnings for the companies in the stock index over the past 12 months, divided by the price of the index at the end of each quarter. There is no guarantee that earnings will be as good over the next year. (But of course, there is no guarantee that all bonds will continue to make their interest payments, either.) The earnings yield is the inverse of the more commonly cited price-earnings ratio.

Earnings come in varying qualities, as companies play games with numbers. The operating earnings are compiled by S.P., which tries to eliminate one-time events from reported profits, but S.P. no doubt makes some decisions about which people could quarrel. These numbers should not be taken as absolutely definitive.

And earnings yield is not the same thing as a dividend yield. Presumably the earnings that are not paid out in dividends are being reinvested for the shareholders’ benefit, but you won’t have to work very hard to find historical examples where that did not work out well for the shareholders.

But with all that, it is clearly unusual for stocks to be yielding more than bonds. And stocks have upsides that bonds lack. Earnings may rise. (They usually do, at least over time.) Bond payouts are fixed. If they change, it will be because the company ran into trouble and halted earnings payments.

At current low levels of interest rates, it is hard to make a case that junk bonds are a better investment than stocks.

Article source: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/05/based-on-relative-yields-stocks-look-cheap/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Wall Street Regains Momentum

Stocks ended moderately higher on Wall Street on Tuesday, regaining much of Monday’s losses.

The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index rose 0.5 percent, the Dow Jones industrial average added 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.5 percent.

The benchmark S.P. 500 last week set a new closing high, but has thus far been unable to reach its intraday record of 1,576.09 points, an important psychological level for investors. It closed at 1,570.25 Tuesday.

While moves may be limited this week leading up to the release on Friday of the American unemployment report for March, investors will be looking to the latest economic data for signs of economic strength last month.

“We’ve had significant pockets of strength in the data, but also some weakness,” said Oliver Pursche, president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services in Suffern, N.Y. “If we can see some broad-based expansion of growth, that would be very beneficial for markets.”

A weak reading on American manufacturing sparked a decline in Monday’s session, though other indicators have pointed to a strengthening economy and helped push both the Dow and S.P. to record highs last week.

European shares bounced back after a two-week slide as merger-and-acquisition activity helped lift sentiment.

The S.P. is up 10 percent so far this year, while the Dow is up nearly 12 percent. While investors view market momentum as positive, many are also calling for a pullback, given the size and swiftness of recent gains.

“We take money off the table on days when we see rallies of about 1 percent,” Mr. Pursche said. “We think things are getting overstretched.”

Hewlett-Packard slumped 5.3 percent to $22.08, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the Dow component, saying it expected the company’s earnings power to come under pressure. Goldman has a $16 price target on the stock, which implies downside of more than 30 percent from H.P.’s Monday closing price.

BGC Partners late Monday said it would sell its eSpeed platform to Nasdaq OMX Group for $750 million in cash. Shares of BGC soared 47 percent.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Stocks End Lower on Wall Street

Stocks on Wall Street fell on Monday, as weaker-than-expected manufacturing data apparently gave investors reason to book profits.

By the close of trading, the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index, which hit a closing high on Thursday, was down 0.5 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average lost about 6 points and the Nasdaq composite index ended 0.9 percent lower. European markets were closed for a holiday.

During the session, the biggest drag on both the S.P. 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes was Apple, which fell 3 percent. Will Danoff, whose $92 billion Fidelity Contrafund is the largest active shareholder in Apple, cut the fund’s stake in the iPhone maker 10 percent during the first two months of 2013.

The Institute for Supply Management’s March manufacturing reading of 51.3 continued to show expansion, but activity slowed from the 54.2 reading in February. A separate report showed construction spending rose more than expected in February, gaining 1.2 percent, above forecasts of a 1 percent rise.

Other recent data has pointed to a strengthening American economy in general, however, and that has helped push both the Dow and the S.P. 500s to record highs and is likely to mean market pullbacks will be short-lived, analysts said.

“The economy is still improving ever so slowly, so I think there’s room for the market to go up,” said Bryant Evans, investment adviser and portfolio manager at Cozad Asset Management, in Champaign, Ill.

The benchmark S.P. index remained below its record intraday high of 1,576.09, but moves may be limited this week in the absence of major catalysts before the March payrolls report on Friday.

For the year, the S.P. is up 9.5 percent, the Dow is up 11.1 percent and the Nasdaq is up 7.4 percent. The Dow first surpassed its record highs in early March.

In company news, Tesla Motors surged 16 percent after forecasting full profitability in the first quarter, citing strong sales of its Model S sedan.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: April 1, 2013

An earlier version of this article, and its capsule summary, misstated the day when the Standard Poor’s 500-share index reached a new closing high. The high was reached last Thursday, not Friday.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/business/economy/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Market Falls on Fear Cyprus Deal Could Hurt Euro

The stock market lost ground Monday as investors worried that a proposal to seize money from bank depositors in Cyprus could cause more anxiety over the fate of the euro, Europe’s shared currency.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 62.05 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 14,452.06 Monday. It plunged as much as 110 points early, briefly turned positive in the afternoon, then fell again in the last hour of trading.

The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index fell 8.60 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,552.10, moving further from its high of 1,565.15, set in 2007. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 11.48 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,237.59.

European markets recovered most of an early decline and closed with modest losses. Yields on government bonds issued by Spain and Italy edged up, and the euro fell to a three-month low against the dollar.

The market rally that has pushed the Dow to record levels this year has been punctuated by concerns about the euro zone’s lingering debt crisis.

“Europe has got problems,” said Uri Landesman, president of the hedge fund Platinum Partners. “You could get more stuff like this, and the market isn’t priced to handle that.”

Cyprus reached an agreement last weekend with its European partners for its government to raid bank accounts as part of a 15.8 billion-euro ($20.7 billion) financial bailout, the first time in the euro zone crisis that the prospect of seizing individuals’ savings has been raised. The measures are stoking fears of bank runs in the other 16 nations that use the euro.

Cypriot authorities, facing an uproar, delayed a parliamentary vote on the seizure and ordered the country’s banks to remain closed until Thursday while they try to modify the deal to lessen its impact on small depositors.

Markets in Europe and Asia also fell during early trading, before retracing some of their losses later in the day. Germany’s DAX index dropped 0.4 percent and Spain’s main stock index shed 1.3 percent. Indexes in Britain and France each lost 0.5 percent.

The American stock market’s reaction to euro zone developments has eased over time.

The Dow slumped more than 8 percent last year from May 1 to June 1 on concerns that Spain and Italy would be dragged into Europe’s debt crisis. While the Dow initially dropped last month in reaction to the unsettled Italian election results, which threw the country into political paralysis, it has since gained 4.6 percent. Likewise the market recovered much of the early loss on Monday prompted by the Cyprus bailout deal.

Even with the stock market’s pullback Friday and Monday, the Dow is still up 10.3 percent this year, while the S. P. 500 is up 8.8 percent.

The stock market’s resilience suggests that traders consider the Cyprus situation to be contained for now, said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist for Prudential. The threat of rising volatility may also deter the Fed from thinking about ending its economic stimulus program. The central bank starts its second two-day policy meeting of the year Tuesday. “Absent the Cyprus flare-up, the markets were slowing a bit and it looked as if investors were digesting the gains and waiting for the next catalyst,” Ms. Krosby said.

In the bond market in the United States, interest rates slipped. The price of the Treasury’s 10-year note rose 10/32, to 100 13/32, while its yield fell to 1.96 percent from 1.99 percent as investors moved into low-risk investments.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss