Reply #117: 2:17 EST numbers and blather

[UpInArms]

Dow 10,548.24 -4.54 (-0.04%)
Nasdaq 2,145.63 +4.41 (+0.21%)
S&P 500 1,227.39 -0.29 (-0.02%)
10-Yr Bond 4.333 +0.44 (+1.03%)

NYSE Volume 1,325,501,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,042,030,000

2:00PM: The indices have remained static since the last comment... The Materials sector continues to fare relatively well today, up 0.6% and teaming with Consumer Discretionary (+0.5%), Consumer Staples (+0.4%), and Tech (+0.2) to support the overall market. In particular, fertilizer and chemicals remain a bright patch, offering a session-leading gain on account of Monsanto's (MON 62.96 +1.58) 2.6% surge...

Buying interest within the sector is broad-based, though, as evidenced by the positive standing of 84% of its components. Of Materials' 5 decliners, only one - Newmont Mining (NEM 47.08 -0.97) - has lost more than 1% today. As a result of NEM's slide, which comes with Venezuela's reported plan to cancel mining rights for some companies, in favor of a state-owned agency, gold futures have fallen 0.8% today...NYSE Adv/Dec 1787/1398, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1454/1434

1:30PM: The absence of a catalyst to ignite either buying or further selling interest keeps leadership lackluster and the indices tightly contained... Energy, off about 1% on the day, continues to pose the strongest downward pressure... Despite the sector's relative weakness today, though, it outshines the second-place Utilities sector twice over and by a 19.6% margin on a year-to-date basis; for further comparison, Healthcare, the third best performer on the year, offers a 3.7% gain...

In terms of third quarter performances, as today's session is Q3's last, four of Energy's five subgroups hold spots on the S&P's top ten list. Of them, refiners' 42.2% gain places number one... On the other side of the aisle, groups within the Consumer Discretionary sector dominate the Q3 laggard list, with home furnishing's 24.2% loss leading the way lower...