A dull day at US Market

Nasdaq outperforms as several brokerage downgrades weigh on overall market

Technology sector was a sole winner in today’s trading at US Market as indices closed almost unchanged but Nasdaq was the only index to register decent gains. Financials were also strong today but weakness in telecom and a couple of other major sectors offset the same today, Monday, 16 June, 2008. Crude prices neared $140 earlier in the day but then slipped and ended marginally lower going into close. Four of the major economic sectors closed higher. Financials, Technology, Energy and Materials were the winning sectors.

The Dow Jones industrial Average traded between red and green for the entire day. It was down more than 50 points earlier in the day. Going into close, the index ended the day with a loss of 38 points at 12,269.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 20.2 points at 2,474.78. S&P 500 finished higher by 0.11 points at 1,360.14.

Nineteen out of thirty Dow stocks ended in the red today. AT&T and Verizon – the telecom stocks led the Dow laggards. The financial heavyweights like Citigroup were some of the stocks that helped Dow to restrict its losses.

In economic news, according to the NY Empire State Index, June manufacturing activity in the New York region contracted by a larger-than-expected amount. The reading slipped 5.5 to -8.7, which fell short of the consensus estimate of -2.0. The stock market responded negatively to the report.

Brokerage downgrades of giants like General Electric, Verizon and AT&T prevented the broader market from making an advance.

The Nasdaq outperformed today with help from Research In Motion which benefitted from several positive brokerage comments

The National Association of Home Builders reported the industry to be as gloomy as ever in June, with about one in five builders holding the view the housing market is good.

Crude prices retreated back after nearing $140/barrel today. Couple of factors continued to weigh on crude prices. Chance of an increase in output at Saudi Arabia was the main reason. Temporary shutdown of an oil platform in the North Sea and weakness in the U.S. dollar had earlier pushed up crude prices. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for July delivery today closed at $134.61/barrel (lower by $0.25/barrel or 0.02%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier it rose to $139.89/barrel.

At the currency markets on Monday, the U.S. dollar fell against most of its major rivals after a meeting of the Group of Eight finance ministers in Japan focused more on inflation than on currencies, deflating expectations of a strong statement of support for the U.S. currency. The dollar index , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, was off 0.6% at 73.62.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 1.1 billion, with advancers ahead of decliners 3 to 2. On the Nasdaq, more than 804 million shares traded, with advancing stocks outpacing those declining by 4 to 3.

Key earnings releases from Goldman Sachs and Best Buy are due tomorrow. Both report prior to opening bell. Tuesday's economic data includes May Housing Starts and the May Producer Price Index followed by the Industrial Production Index for May.