The stock market had a very rough start to the new week, falling across the board today. and the booting of Wachovia CEO Ken Thompson put a very negative tone on the sector and the broader market throughout the day. Stocks did regain some ground in the last hour to minimize the damage to a certain degree. The Dow closed lower by 134.5 points. The Nasdaq fell by 31.13 points. The S&P 500 lost 14.71 points, or 1.05% on the session.
The financials were the source of much of the damage to the major indices today. American Express (NYSE:AXP) shares fell by 2.37% in today's trading. Discover 
Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) shares tumbled 4.78% on heavy volume. Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH), which lost 8.1%, was the biggest loser in a very weak brokerage sector after the cut and subsequent negative comments from S&P. Other investment service companies also fell today. Charles Schwab (Nasdaq:SCHW) shares lost 2.12% in today's trading. The exchanges continued to get roughed up as well. NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) lost 2.99% and InterContinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) lost 2.93% on the day. Fifth Third (Nasdaq:FITB) fell 3.8% on double its normal volume and hit a new 52 week low.
Technology stocks were also lower almost across the board today. VMware (NYSE:VMW) shares lost 3.32%, but volume was much lighter than normal today. MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE:WFR) was weaker by 2.97% in the very weak alternative energy space. Baidu.com (Nasdaq:BIDU) shares finished lower by 2.12% on the day. Check Point (Nasdaq:CHKP) shares lost 2.01% and Symantec (Nasdaq:SYMC) shares lost 3.54% as the software stocks lost ground today.
Retail stocks were knocked lower today as well. American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) lost 2.31% in today's trading. Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq:PSUN) shares plunged 5.16% on double their normal volume. Macy's (NYSE:M) shares tumbled 3.59% on average volume. Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) shares lost 2.1%, giving back some of last Friday's gains.
Notable 52 week lows
- Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Shares lost 2.97% on the session.
- Huntington Bancshares (Nasdaq:HBAN) Shares lost 2.36% today and have fallen 62% in the last year.
- Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE:NWL) Shares fell by 2.19% to a new low today.
- Weight Watchers (NYSE:WTW) Lost 3.16% on the session today.
- Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) This stock has been an absolute dog over the past four years, falling slowly but surely each and every year.
The Dow actually lost all of last weeks gains in today's session. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq saw their gains cut by more than 50%, but they are still higher than they were a week ago. The volume continues to be fairly lackluster, especially on the NYSE as many traders seem content sit and wait on the sidelines for the time being.
After a short period of a nice rebound and outperformance of the overall market a few months ago, the financials have been very weak on a relative basis over the last several weeks. This is certainly a concern to many as it seems like it would be tough to see a full fledged rebound in the economy and the stock market without the financial sector participating heavily.
It will be interesting to see if there is follow through to today's selling pressure or if bargain hunting will be the name of the game. The market is entering the summer period which is typically not too kind to the bulls, so it would be wise to keep a close eye on the internals in the coming weeks.
To signup for the RSS Feed from this blog please click here.
Comment Preview