Indices ended trading with mixed moves on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index both shed points, led lower by Financials, Healthcare, and homebuilder stocks. Technology sector stocks led advancers on the NASDAQ Composite. The major indices landed squarely in the red zone on Tuesday, dipping on a variety of news. The NASDAQ hit correction territory, down 10% from its recent all-time high in August. Continuing the decline, Wednesday’s action was well into the red as Technology sector stocks led the way down on a variety of economic news. New-home sales for September fell more than expected, seemingly confirming that higher interest rates are beginning to take a toll as the 30-year fixed-rate loans are averaging a full percentage point over last year. Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report, which tracked economic activity through mid-October, showed expansion at a modest-to-moderate pace. Consumer spending improved slightly while consumer price growth was modest to moderate. Thursday’s action was decidedly in the positive territory with the major indices all gaining more than 2%. These moves largely erased Wednesday’s losses and were helped by good earnings data. Furthermore, the 10-year Treasury bond rose to 3.14%. Friday’s trading session started sharply lower but managed to choppily recover some ground in the afternoon. However, at the close of the day, the Dow, S&P 500, and NASDAQ all closed slightly lower. Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors led the decliners while Basic Materials displayed relative strength. In economic releases, the advanced reading of GDP from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed GDP expanded at an annualized rate of 3.5% for the third quarter. The reading was better than expected and suggests the broad economy is still in good shape.
