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Dow Jones Industrial Average Follows Apple South, Snaps Win Streak

The Data That Derailed Apple; Plus, 2 Wearable Techs to Watch

Apr 15, 2016 at 4:23 PM
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) explored a roughly 70-point range on both sides of breakeven, ultimately settling on a modest loss and snapping a three-day winning streak. Leading the Dow lower was Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), following a downbeat report related to iPhone production. Meanwhile, energy stocks took it on the chin, as crude oil sold off ahead of a key meeting of oil producers this weekend, and traders digested a mixed round of economic data.

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

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 17,897.46) edged 29 points, or 0.2%, lower. Half of the Dow's 30 components finished higher, led by a 0.8% gain at Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV). The other 15 blue chips settled in the red, with AAPL performing the worst, down 2%. On a weekly basis, the Dow jumped 1.8% -- its best weekly percentage gain since mid-March.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,080.73) slipped 2.1 points, or 0.1%, but tacked on 1.6% for the week. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 4,938.22) dropped 7.7 points, or 0.2%, yet advanced 1.8% on a weekly basis.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 13.62) edged 0.1 point, or 0.7%, lower on the day, and slid 11.3% on the week.

Indexes closing summary April 15

NYSE and NASDAQ stats April 15

5 Items on Our Radar Today:

  1. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) CEO Sergio Marchionne sparked speculation about a major auto industry merger, naming Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM), and Volkswagen as potential partners. "The door has never been closed. The need to consolidate does not go away," Marchionne said. (USA Today)
  2. The Group of 20 (G-20) concluded two days of talks with an official statement in which it warned against overreliance on monetary policy. Instead, the international forum encouraged the use of "all policy tools -- monetary, fiscal and structural -- individually and collectively to foster confidence and strengthen growth." (MarketWatch)
  3. Optimism is building ahead of Netflix, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:NFLX) upcoming earnings report.
  4. This data storage stock logged the worst weekly performance of any SPX component.
  5. Wall Street sounded a surprisingly upbeat note toward this trio of 2016 underperformers.


Quarterly Earnings April 15

Unusual Options Activity April 15
Data courtesy of Trade-Alert

Commodities:

Crude got crushed today, as commodity traders took a risk-off approach ahead of Sunday's crucial meeting among top exporters in Doha, Qatar. By day's end, May-dated crude futures were down $1.14, or 2.8%, at $40.36 per barrel. However, for the week, oil prices rose 1.6%.

Gold snapped a three-day losing streak as the stock market rally relented, but finished lower on a week-over-week basis. Specifically, gold for June delivery added $8.10, or 0.7%, to land at $1,234.60 per ounce. Relative to last Friday, the precious metal gave up 0.7%, for its first weekly loss in three.

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