Stock index composites floundered downward today after an aftershock quake
rocked Japan and the surrounding region. Originally listed as a 7.9 and then
downgraded somewhat to a 7.1 on the Richter scale. This news will overshadow all
other economic posts for the day. Earlier in the trading session, the Department
of Labor reported that fewer Americans had applied for first time unemployment
benefits last week. This data continued the positive trends in the employment
sector as it implied that employers were hiring more and more Americans were
back to work. Specifically, the Labor Department reported that the number of
people applying for benefits dropped by 10,000 to 382,000 for the week ending
April 2. The four week average of persons applying for unemployment benefits
dropped as well to 389,500. This was another bite of good news for the U.S.
economy. Sadly however, news spread today of another tsunami warning due to the
7.1 earthquake that hit Japan today. Stock index composites were directly
affected. As of the halfway point of today's trading session, all three major
index composites in the United States were posting red. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average was lower at this point by .31 percent at 12,388.30. Oil continued to
rise today and topped $110 per barrel. This is the highest per barrel price we
have seen in over two years. The dollar rose against the euro and the British
pound to close the day and the major indices all ended the session red. The Dow
ended lower by .14 percent and finished the day at 12,409.49. The Nasdaq ended
the session lower by .13 percent and finished at 2,796.14. The S&P 500 ended the
session lower by .15 percent and finished the day at 1,333.51. Author: Frank
Matto
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