Dow Jones Industrial Average Loses the Day, Wins the Week

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell for a second straight day, as oil prices surrendered their short-term foothold atop the round $30-per-barrel mark, and as the core consumer price index (CPI) strengthened the Fed's case for raising interest rates. Nevertheless, coming off its first three-day rally of the year, the Dow was able to score its biggest weekly win since November. Meanwhile, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite (COMP) finished higher on the day, notching its best week since July.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• After a historic SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) win streak, what's next for stocks?
• Buyout buzz sparked big days for Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), while Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) went along for the ride. 
• The "powerful tool" that sent Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) soaring 18%.
• Plus ... One Fed official's vote of confidence, Elon Musk's newest competitor, and some discouraging stats for pre-earnings Fitbit bulls.
  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 16,391.99) was off more than 135 points at its session low, before paring these losses to 21.4 points, or 0.1%. Seventeen of the Dow's 30 components closed lower, led by Intel Corporation's (NYSE:INTC) 2.4% drop. Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) paced the 12 advancers with its 1.4% gain, while DuPont (NYSE:DD) was unchanged. For the week, the Dow added 2.6%.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,917.78) was hovering just above the 1,900 mark at its intraday low, before settling fractionally lower. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 4,504.43), meanwhile, jumped 16.9 points, or 0.4%. Week-over-week, the SPX rallied 2.8%, while the COMP surged 3.8%.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 20.53) settled near its session low, shedding 1.1 points, or 5.1%. On a weekly basis, the market's "fear gauge" gave back 19.2%.

 


​

5 Items on Our Radar Today:

1. Speaking in Florida this morning, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said she believes the U.S. economy is strong enough to weather "this episode of market turbulence and the soft patch of economic data," and supports a gradual increase of interest rates this year. Mester spoke shortly before the release of January's core CPI, which signaled inflation is on the rise. (MarketWatch)

2. Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, said his company Virgin Galactic will unveil its newest spaceship -- SpaceShipTwo -- later today, replacing one that crashed in 2014. The announcement comes nearly two months after Elon Musk's SpaceX was successful in launching an unmanned rocket into space. (The Washington Post)

3. Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) will unveil quarterly earnings Monday night, and call buyers have been circling. Unfortunately for them, history is not on their side.

4.  3 energy stocks in analysts' crosshairs.

5. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) jumped on news of a freshly inked deal with one of Hollywood's most notable names.

 

​
Data courtesy of Trade-Alert

Commodities:

Crude oil futures got knocked, as fear of a global supply glut overshadowed reports of a ninth straight weekly decline in rig counts. By the close, March-dated crude futures were off $1.13, or 3.7%, at $29.64 per barrel. For the week, however, oil prices rose 0.7%.

Gold, meanwhile, gained ground after the CPI data hinted at rising inflation. At session's end, gold for April delivery was up $4.50, or 0.4%, at $1,230.80 per ounce. Week-over-week, though, gold dropped 0.7% -- its first weekly loss in a month.