The major index composites ended last session covered in a blanket of red. The
Dow Jones Industrials fell by .95 percent and finished the day 12,263.58. The
Nasdaq ended the session lower by .96 percent to finish at 2,744.79. The S&P 500
ended red by .78 percent to close at 1,314.16. Oil prices made headlines
yesterday as they dropped to their lowest levels this month. Alcoa stock posted
a 6% drop and applied negative pressure to the Dow. Today, the Mortgage Bankers
Association will report on mortgage applications and this report is expected to
be flat or negative. The housing sector has been weak for a while and little
evidence at this time suggests that the report will show any dramatic
improvements. The Commerce Department will report on retail sales in March, as
well as the business inventories report. On Thursday, the Labor Department will
report on initial jobless claims and the Producer Price Index report from March.
We will see the Consumer Price Index report from the Labor Department for March
on Friday. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York will report its Empire
Manufacturing Index on the last trading session of the week as well. Also, we
will get preliminary data results from the University of Michigan Consumer
Sentiment Index report due this day. Investors will keep a close eye on
indicators as they attempt to process and predict momentum swings. Negative
pressure will still weigh on investors and push index composites. A government
shutdown is still a possibility and will be on investors minds. The crisis in
Japan will continue to apply negative pressure to world markets. Rising crude
price per barrel will definitely be a trend that investors will observe closely.
Rising interest rates is another variable applying negative pressure in the
current economic environment. Many variables will play a part during as the
latter half of the week plays out. Author: Frank Matto
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