Wall Street Hits the Summer Doldrums on Down Day

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U.S. equities finished lower on Monday amid relatively quiet trading as the dog days of summer set in. It seems investors are more occupied with vacationing than trading. At least, until the end of the month when Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen speaks, putting the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September back in play.

In the end, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%, the S&P 500 Index lost 0.1%, the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.2% and the Russell 2000 ended the day 0.1% lower. Treasury bonds were little changed, the dollar was mostly higher, gold fell slightly and crude oil continued its short-covering rally up 2.9%.

Oil has also been lifted on a repeat of the type of chatter we saw back in February: A possible OPEC production freeze deal could be in the works. This is the oil cartel’s version of central bank “verbal intervention” that seems to be duping the market again. But with inventories bloated, the end of the summer season approaching and supply from Iran and elsewhere increasing, the trick shouldn’t last much longer.

NYSE

Energy led the way with a 1.2% gain while healthcare stocks were the laggards down 0.9%. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) dropped 0.6% after agreeing to acquire online retailer Jet.com for $3.3 billion. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) dropped 2% after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) denied reports it was preparing an investment in the company.

After the close, Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) fell 4.4% after reporting a 4% decline in same-store sales versus the 0.3% drop expected. Fiscal second-quarter guidance was slashed on a slowdown in revenue at its upscale Banana Republic label.

Overseas, China reported its largest export decline in five months as imports dropped for the 21st consecutive month.

Overall, amid the lightest volume trading day of 2016 so far, there just isn’t much else to say. With volatility compressing down to one of the lowest levels in history, once the market breaks out of its recent trading range, the move up or down should be explosive.

Anthony Mirhaydari is founder of the Edge and Edge Pro investment advisory newsletters. A two-week and four-week free trial offer has been extended to InvestorPlace readers.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/08/stock-market-today-nyse-dow-jones-industrial-average-investing-news-nflx-wmt/.

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