No News, Stocks Lose

In a very choppy trading session, the major indices fell further to the downside on Monday, as investors were largely left without guideposts. There were no meaningful economic reports nor corporate releases upon which to trade, so the overwhelming overhang of a continuing negative feedback loop sent investors bailing again.

Dow 6,547.05, -79.89 (1.21%)
NASDAQ 1,268.64, -25.21 (1.95%)
S&P 500 676.53, -6.85 (1.00%)
NYSE Composite 4,226.31, -58.18 (1.36%)

Stocks opened lower at the open, but quickly rebounded and traded in positive territory for a while, but by 11:00 am, the bears had taken control again. The only encouraging news was merger-related, though the combinations were deemed dilutive to two companies, one a Dow component: Merck (MRK) and Dow Chemical (DOW). In the pharma sector, Merck signed definitive agreements to purchase Schering-Plough for $41.1 billion in stock and cash. Dow Chemical, meanwhile, convened talks with buyout target Rohm & Haas to resolve thorny issues which have resulted in litigation. Merck lost 1.75, to close at 20.99, the largest percentage decliner on the Dow at a loss of 7.78%. Dow Chemical lost 0.79, to close at 6.32, an 11% loss.

Overall, the Dow finished with 14 stocks up and 16 down, but the severity of the losses was far greater than what amounted to skimpy gains.

In the general market, declining issues outnumbered advancers, 4613-1947, The number of stocks making new lows was again very high, at 1244. There were only 6 new highs. Volume was less than it was last week, reflecting some degree of disinterest or outright exhaustion.

NYSE Volume 1,556,423,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,053,304,000

Commodities were split once again, with oil rising $1.55, to $47.07 on word of more desperate OPEC supply cuts, despite heating oil and natural gas both finishing lower. Natural gas finished at a seasonal low of $3.87, a sign that milder weather through the latter part of February and into March has led to lower consumer demand.

Gold dropped $24.70, to $918.00; silver fell 39 cents, to $12.94.

There is continuing evidence of price destruction in the US and beyond, which will no doubt put pressure on many corporate profits this quarter. Looking out 6 weeks at the next earnings season, prospects continue to dim, and that was reflected in Monday's sluggish trade.

Stocks have now fallen in 14 of the last 18 sessions, resulting in a net loss of 1392 points on the Dow. The DJIA is now off 25% for the year.

Late Rally Saves Dow, S&P; NASDAQ Lower

Bed news for investors continued today, as the BLS released the Non-farms labor report for February, showing the nation lost another 651,000 jobs over the period. The Bureau also revised December and January figures even lower and boosted the official jobless rate to 8.1%, a further blow to confidence.

After gaining initially, the major indices soon feel into the red again, and stayed down most of the session, which was one of the more lackluster of recent vintage. At the end of the day, stocks rallied on a combination of short-covering, staking out of positions and a general oversold condition. It was not enough, however, to prevent the indices from falling for the 8th week out of nine so far in 2009.

Dow 6,626.94, +32.50 (0.49%)
NASDAQ 1,293.85, -5.74 (0.44%)
S&P 500 683.38, +0.83 (0.12%)
NYSE Composite 4,284.49, +16.89 (0.40%)

The Dow ended the session with 16 components up and 14 down, in line with the moderately higher closing figures.

Declining issues outweighed advancers, 3786-2782, so the buying which produced the gains was quite selective. New lows tallied 1684, to a mere 8 new highs. The disparity in the lows-highs this week has been the widest since the collapse back in the September-November wipeout of 2008. Volume was the among the highest of the week, indicating that there are still those who believe the worst is not over, and, alternately, a large share of bargain hunting.

NYSE Volume 1,771,049,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,489,014,000

Commodities were generally up, with oil gaining $1.91, to $45.52. Gold gained $14.90, recovering some of the ground lost over the past week's profit taking, to $942.70. Silver remained strong, adding 21 cents, to $13.33.

The late-day rally in stocks sets up an intriguing scenario for next week. In the absence of earnings reports from companies, the market will continue to focus on economic numbers and outside events.

Surely, employment will still be in focus. Any large-scale layoffs might spook already exhausted sellers, though if the news is more benign (and just about everyone believes the bad news has to take a break at some point), it could spark a fairly sharp rally. The global economy hasn't completely fallen off the cliff, so there are pockets of hope and some very attractive prices in stocks.

If anything, the market is more than overdue for a multi-week bounce to the upside. Of course, by April, the banks may be reporting the results of their government-sponsored "stress tests" and that should put the kibosh on any gains.

Sentiment remains stoic and bearish, but traders being the aggressive beasts they are, 1000 points to the upside in short order is not out of the question at this juncture.

Stocks Routed Worldwide; NASDAQ Capitulates

Stock indices from Tokyo to Toronto suffered major losses again on Thursday as the global depression deepened and General Motors (GM) contemplated bankruptcy unless it receives additional financial support from the US government.

As the steady pounding continued, following the first gains in a week (yesterday), investors wiped out nearly double the amount of Wednesday's gains.

Dow 6,594.44, -281.40 (4.09%)
NASDAQ 1,299.59, -54.15 (4.00%)
S&P 500 682.55, -30.32 (4.25%)
NYSE Compos 4,267.60, -197.29 (4.42%)

There was no standout sector or industry spared from the widespread carnage, as the NASDAQ finally became the 4th major index to fall below the previous, November 20 lows. On that date, the NASDAQ closed at 1313. Today's close was 1% lower and comparable to October 2002 levels, when the NASDAQ bottomed out following the dotcom bust on October 9, at 1114.11.

As has been the case for months, US banks were at the center of the storm. Citigroup (C) traded below $1.00 for a brief time during the morning, closing down another 0.11, at 1.02. Bank of America (BAC) closed down 0.42, to 3.17, while JP Morgan Chase (JPM) tumbled 2.70, to 16.60. All of those were among the major losers of Dow components, though General Motors took the prize as the day's biggest, losing 0.34, to 1.86, a decline of 15.45%.

On the Dow, only 2 of 30 components gained ground. Pfizer (PFE) added 0.17, to 12.67. Wal-Mart (WMT) was up 1.26, to 49.75, as the nation's largest retailer saw improved same-store sales for February and increased its dividend to shareholders.

Market internals were a shambles, with decliners overwhelming advancing issues, 5823-842, a 7-1 ratio. New lows shot up to levels seen only in the September-November meltdown, with 1527 stocks reaching new 52-week lows versus only 7 new highs. Volume remained elevated, as it has over the past 7 sessions.

NYSE Volume 1,878,339,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,314,223,000

Oil futures were off $1.77, to $43.61. Gold emerged as a safe haven, up $21.10, to $927.80. Silver added 21 cents, to $13.12.

Prior to the opening bell on Friday, the Bureau of labor Statistics releases February Non-farm Payroll numbers. Expectations are for another 630,000 job losses.