Investors were cautiously hesitant during the trading session today. Stock
futures began the morning mixed and as of mid-day trading, market tracking
revealed that index composites remained mixed. The overbearing element that
continues to envelope the market right now is oil. Oil has been surging for
weeks and stock indices are struggling as a result. As of the halfway point in
the trading session today, the Nasdaq and the S&P were in the red and the Dow
Jones was barely on the plus side of breakeven. Again today, oil prices moved
higher amidst the unrest that continues in the Middle Eastern regions of our
world. Positive news posted yesterday that implied that Libyan leader, Gadhafi,
might look to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict and thus indirectly
temper the rise in energy commodity prices. Many analysts though fear that
consistently pulling oil prices down will be quite difficult and that it is more
likely that prices will consistently move higher. Many fear that this is only
the beginning. The dollar was gaining strength today versus the euro and the
British pound and gold futures were on the rise. The Commerce Department
reported today that wholesale inventories rose 1.1 percent in January. This
reading was a bit better than economists were anticipating. As of end of day
close, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were posting red. The Nasdaq was lower by .51
percent at 2,751.72 and the S&P 500 was red by .14 percent at 1320.01. The Dow
was posting red by .01 percent at 12,213.09. Author: Frank Matto
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