Sam Collins

Your End-of-the-Year Trading Plan

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Financial and technology stocks led the stock market lower yesterday, as buyers sought less volatile investments.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) was the weakest stock of the Dow 30, off 1.9%, and three of the four financials on the list closed lower.

U.S. GDP was readjusted lower for Q3 after it was determined that the economy expanded at a 2.8% rate rather than 3.5%, which had previously been reported. The adjustment came from the minutes of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting early this month.

The Case-Shiller home price index showed the fifth monthly increase in U.S. home prices in September. Further good news: The Conference Board's monthly reading of consumer sentiment rose more than analysts were expecting.

Consumer confidence for November showed an increase with a reading of 49.5. And, for a short time, the retail stocks showed some life. But at the end of the session they were marginally lower.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was down 17 points to 10,434, the S&P 500 (SPX) fell less than a point to 1,106, and the Nasdaq (NASD) was off 7 points to 2,169. 

For the second consecutive day, the NYSE traded less than 1 billion shares. Yesterday, the Big Board traded about 964 million shares with decliners ahead of advancers by 5-to-4, and the Nasdaq traded 575 million shares with decliners ahead by 11-to-7.

Crude oil for January delivery fell $1.54 to $76.02 a barrel as traders feared an increase in oil supplies. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) gained 33 cents to close at $57.66.

December gold rose $1.10 to $1,165.80 an ounce, and the PHLX Gold/Silver Sector Index (XAU) fell $1.20 to $185.79.

What the Markets Are Saying

Yesterday, traders again showed their unwillingness to take risk. The sectors showing the biggest gains are considered relatively defensive, with telecom the biggest performer for the second straight day, followed by health care, oil and gas, and utilities. The worst performers were financials, technology, industrials and consumer services.