US stocks took a breather after last week’s record highs, ending a volatile few days in the red as some investors snapped up profits before the third quarter closes.
In four of the five days, the Dow finished the trading session with swings of more than 100 points in either direction, a shift from the low-volatility trend seen throughout much of the year.
In the end, the Dow fell 166.59 points (0.96 percent) to 17,113.15 this week, the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 27.55 (1.37 percent) to 1,982.85 and the tech-rich NASDAQ Composite Index declined 67.60 (1.48 percent) to 4,512.19.
Analysts cited many reasons for the pullback: This week’s move by the US and allies to bomb jihadists in Syria, coupled with US President Barack Obama’s speech at the UN on the militant threat, suggested the West’s response “could be a long, drawn-out process,” Hinsdale Associates director of investment Bill Lynch said.
Russia also remained on the radar, as investors speculated on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s response to tougher Western sanctions on the country. Market watchers are particularly edgy over the impact of the tensions on the fragile eurozone economy.
US economic data was mixed, with sales of new single-family houses surging to their highest in more than six years and the US Department of Commerce revising second-quarter economic growth from an annual rate of 4.2 percent to 4.6 percent. On the downside, US durable goods orders plunged 18.2 percent due to a big drop in the volatile transportation sector.
Yet most of the US economic reports came in as expected, said Lynch, who characterized this week’s newsflow as far more sedate after last week’s Scotland independence vote and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s (阿里巴巴) initial public offering.
Wunderlich Securities chief market strategist Art Hogan said the jerkiness in trade was “really typical of volatility at the end of the quarter” as investors square positions and take profits.
Hogan said the outlook for the US economy still looks solid, but that the rising US dollar remains a concern for local markets, in part because greenback-denominated commodities like oil are weighted down by a strong greenback.
Apple Inc endured a bruising Thursday, dropping 3.8 percent following a glitch in its newest operating system and complaints that its latest iPhone models bend easily. Yet on Friday, the tech giant rallied 2.9 percent as it released a new software update.
Pharmaceutical stocks fe;; after the US Department of the Treasury on Tuesday unveiled new tax rules designed to curb inversion deals, in which US companies merge with foreign businesses to relocate to a lower tax address.
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