US stocks witnessed a mixed finish going into close on Tuesday, 31 January 2012. It was only the Nadaq that eked out small gains going into close. Worse than expected economic data weighed on stocks throughout the day though stocks managed to pare losses partly going into close. Investors remained concerned regarding latest developments in the euro zone. The dollar firmed up and commodities had a steady finish. But the indices had one of the best gains in January in a long time.
For the day, that ended on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 2011, Dow ended lower by 20.81 points or 0.2% to end at 12,632.91. The Nasdaq gained 1.9 points or 0.07% to end at 2,813.84. The S&P 500 lost 0.61 points or 0.05% to end at 1,312.4.
Four out of ten economic sectors ended higher led by financial, utilities, telecom and technology sectors. Consumer discretionary, industrial and energy sectors remained the laggards. Materials and healthcare sectors remained unchanged. Dow components had a mixed finish. Exxon Mobil led the Dow laggards following disappointing earnings.
Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 recorded their best percentage jump for the month of January since 1997. The Nasdaq Composite recorded its best January since 2001. The Dow is up 3.4% for January in its fourth straight monthly gain. The S&P 500 is up 4.4% for the month, while the Nasdaq Composite is up 8% for January.
In the currency market on Tuesday, the Dollar Index, which weighs the strength of dollar against basket of six other currencies rose by almost 0.2%.
There were some fresh developments coming out of the European Union debt crisis on Tuesday. Reports said Greeces private sector and government talks on debt restructuring have made some progress but still have not come to a complete resolution. The Greek prime minister said he looks for an agreement to be sealed this week. Mondays EU leaders summit meeting was also deemed successful, as the group pledged closer fiscal ties and better debt-limit enforcement policies among EU countries. The EU debt crisis is still a major underlying bullish factor for the gold market, due to its safe-haven asset status.
Among economic reports expected for the day on Tuesday, data disappointed at Wall Street on Tuesday. The Consumer Confidence Index for January Index fell to 61.1 from 64.8, which had been widely expected to improve to 67.0. In addition, the latest Chicago PMI reading showed that it fell to 60.2 in January from 62.5 in the prior month. That disappointed many market participants since the consensus forecast called for a reading of 62.8.
Strength among financials was largely offset by weakness in the energy sector. Exxon Mobil was a heavy drag as many investors responded negatively to the integrated oil giants in-line earnings results. Pfizer and Eli Lilly were among the more widely held names that were also in focus following their earnings announcements. Both bested what Wall Street had expected.
Crude prices ended lower on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 at Nymex. Prices ended lower following strong dollar and weaker than expected economic data at Wall Street. Light and sweet crude for March delivery fell $0.30 (0.3%) to $98.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday. Prices rose to a high of $101.29 during intra day trading. Prices fell 0.4% for the month of January.
Precious metal prices ended mixed on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 at Comex. Gold prices rose but silver fell. Comex February gold futures prices ended the U.S. day session modestly higher and hit a seven-week high. The higher U.S. dollar index and weaker crude oil prices also affected prices. But the bulls enjoyed a good run for the month of January.
Gold for April delivery ended higher by $6 or 0.4%, to end at $1,740.4 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday. It fell to a low of $1,727 and rose to a high of $1,750.6 during intra day trading. Gold ended the month of January higher by 11%. On Tuesday, silver prices for March delivery fell $0.27 or 0.8% to end at $33.26. For the month of January, silver gained 19%.
For every two stocks that lost ground roughly three gained on the New York Stock Exchange, with more than 1 billion shares traded. Composite volume topped 4.1 billion.
Indian ADRs ended strictly higher on Monday. In the Telecom space, MTNL was up 6.1% at $1.22 and Tata Communication was up 1.3% at $9.18. In the Banking space, ICICI Bank was up 4.6% at $36.21 and HDFC Bank was up 1.4% at $31.03. In the IT space, Patni was up 1.5% at $18.53, Wipro was up 1.5% at $10.88 and Infosys was up 1.3% at $54.99. In the other space, Tata Motors was up 2.1% at $24.08.
For tomorrow, MBA Mortgage Index is the only economic report expected for the day. Other than that, earning reports will also continue to pour in.
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