YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: For only the second time in 2012 the S&P
500 logged a 1.0% loss. The downturn came in response to some familiar
concerns, namely sovereign debt and uncertainty about domestic monetary policy.
Sentiment soured well ahead of the open as trade in Europe was
weakened by underwhelming demand for a recent debt offering from
Data certainly didn't stir any buying interest. The ADP Employment
Change indicated that private payrolls increased by 209,000 during March, but
that was slightly less than the increase of 217,000 that many economists had
expected. After the open the ISM Services Index for March was released, but its
reading of 56.0 was less than the 56.7 that had been broadly expected to follow
the 57.3 that had been printed in the prior month. On a more positive note,
recent PMI Services readings of
The S&P 500 was down in excess of 1% at its session low, but
stocks were able to attract some support during afternoon action. Still, the
stock market could not cut its loss to less than 1%.
Tech stocks, which make up the largest sector by market weight,
were an especially heavy drag. The sector was down about 2% at its session low,
but ended the day with a 1.4% loss. Such weakness caused the Tech-rich Nasdaq to underperform its
counterparts.
Financials booked some of the biggest losses of all. The sector
fell 1.6% for the day. Diversified financial services players like Citigroup (C 35.04, -1.33) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 44.41, -1.01)
grappled with pronounced selling pressure.
Materials stocks suffered a 1.4% loss, collectively, in conjunction
with both broad market weakness and a concerted sell-off among commodities.
Weakness in the commodity complex dropped the CRB Index for a 1.9% loss, which
stands as its worst single-session slide of 2012.
The negative tone surrounding commodities was likely exacerbated by
a stronger dollar, which was off of its session high, but still up nearly 0.4%
against a basket of major foreign currencies at the closing bell. Most of the
greenback's gain came against the euro, which failed to receive help from the
European Central Bank following its decision to keep its target interest rate
at 1.00%.
Treasuries attracted buyers after sliding sharply in the prior
session. That pulled the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note down from a 10-day
high near 2.30% to slightly less than 2.25%.
Overall weakness in the commodity complex dropped the CRB Index for
a 1.9% loss, which is its worst single-session loss this year.
A negative response to weekly inventory numbers, which featured a
build of 9.0 million barrels when a build of 2.5 million barrels had been
expected, sent oil prices deeper into negative territory this morning. Lows
were set at $101.07 per barrel before the energy component could work its way
up to $101.53 per barrel for a 2.4% loss.
Natural gas prices chopped around the unchanged line during morning
trade, but fell into negative territory mid-session. Pressure picked up with the
approach of the close, leaving the energy component to settle at $2.14 per MMBtu for a 2.3% loss.
Precious metals were hit doubly hard since the prior session of pit
trade had already closed before the release of hawkish commentary contained in
the minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting. Gains by the greenback likely
exacerbated their weakness. Gold set its session low at $1613.00 per ounce
before it inched up to $1613.60 per ounce to log a 3.5% loss and its worst
close since January. As for silver, it slumped 6.5% to settle at $31.02 per
ounce
Advancing Sectors:
None
Unchanged: Telecom
Declining Sectors:
Utilities -0.2%, Consumer Staples -0.3%, Health Care -0.6%, Industrials -0.7%,
Consumer Discretionary -1.0%, Energy -1.2%, Materials -1.4%, Tech -1.4%,
Financials -1.6%DJ30 -124.80 NASDAQ -45.48 NQ100 -1.4% R2K -1.7% SP400 -1.4%
SP500 -14.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 481/1.80 bln/2064
NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 588/832 mln/2424