The stock markets were quite volatile today. They opened higher, surged lower in the late morning, then surged higher in the afternoon, only to lose that ground and close around the unchanged mark. The Dow finished up by 14.47 points, while the Nasdaq closed down by 6.59 and the S&P down by 1.85. 
Most of the major sectors were fractionally lower on the day, with basic materials and consumer cyclicals being the biggest losers. The major conglomerates led the way on the upside, and the consumer non-cyclicals also finished higher.
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) was the biggest drag on the Dow today, losing 2.35%. Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE:AVY) shares fell by 3.46% after the company cut its 2007 earnings outlook citing weak market conditions. Steel and Iron stocks were lower on the day, led lower by Steel Dynamics (Nasdaq:STLD) and United States Steel (NYSE:X) which both fell by over 3% on the day.
Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE:HOG) led the consumer cyclical sector lower as analysts cut their rating on the company after Friday's major earnings warning. Recent winner Under Armour Inc. (NYSE:UA) shares also fell by 2.27% as apparel companies were under pressures.
Conglomerates General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) and United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) led the Dow, as both finished about 1% higher on the day.
Interestingly, some of the major brokerages reversed course this afternoon and finished strongly higher after an apparent short-squeeze. Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) and Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC) led the group higher, gaining 2.59% and 2.02% respectively.
The major thing that the markets were tracking today were the speeches by the different Federal Reserve board members. San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen's speech received the most publicity as she said that the current market turmoil has added to the downside risks of the economy "appreciably." She said that the market turmoil is likely to cause a further downturn in housing and poses a major risk to the overall economy, especially the all-important consumer spending. Yellen did say however that the Fed should not use monetary policy to shield investors from losses.
The volume on the market was quite low again today, as it seems investors have decided to wait largely on the sidelines before the all-important FOMC announcement next Tuesday. The rest of the week will likely be volatile, but shouldn't do anything to establish a long-term trend in the markets.
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