| Stocks Lower On The Day, But Post Strong Quarterly Gains |
| Sep-28-2012 |
| Keywords: stocks, economic reports, quarter |
Mixed economic reports lead to a down day on Wall Street, while investors cheer quarterly returns.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49 points on the day. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 21 points; the S&P 500 finished 6 points lower.
Those results capped another down week for the stock market, but barely put a dent in monthly and quarterly gains.
During the 3rd quarter the Dow climbed 4.3%, the S&P 500 rallied 5.8% and the Nasdaq jumped 6.2%. Utility stocks were the only sector to end in the red in the 3-month period ending today.
The energy, consumer discretionary, technology, telecommunications and financial sectors all posted strong gains. Crude oil jumped 8.5% in its best showing since the final quarter of 2011. Gold tacked on 10.5% and silver lurched higher by 25.2%.
The market today focused on another round of mixed reports on the economy.
The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago's PMI gauge fell below 50, marking the first contraction in Midwest manufacturing since September 2009.
Consumer Confidence waned in late September from earlier in the month. The Reuters/University of Michigan survey ended at 78.3, the highest level since May.
The Commerce Department said consumer spending jumped 0.5% in August, outpacing weaker than expected income growth, causing consumers to dip into their savings. |
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Posted by Lou Dobbs Staff at 5:00 PM Email to a friend |
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