Reply #116: stocks at the waterline

[ozymandius]

Isn't it a bit unusual for stocks to be flat on the last day of the month/quarter?

2:11
Dow 10,552.06 -0.72 (-0.01%)
Nasdaq 2,146.37 +5.15 (+0.24%)
S&P 500 1,227.72 +0.04 (+0.00%)
10-Yr Bond 43.34 +0.45 (+1.05%)
NYSE Volume 1,302,228,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,025,780,000

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... NYSE Adv/Dec 1764/1398, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1406/1484